Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués
by ShuzoKubo
Summary: Shokugeki no Soma is a cooking manga about people who dream to be a chef, but this story is about young man, of whom is both forced to be one as well as survive Totsuki's 3 years of hell for the sake of his own dream.
1. Chapter 1

**Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Gaming Chef**

* * *

 _Tōtsuki Culinary Academy is the most famous cooking school in the world and a nessecary one for those youthful chefs who wished to be recognized as the world's greatest to attend. In this school there is only one way to settle problems between students, and that is with the coooking duel known as the Shokugeki. One of which is going on between two students as I speak_

"Damn it... I can't believe I forgot the paprika... shit without it I'm going to have to change the recipe... but how?" a young man thought as he starts to lose his cool over an apparent clerical error on his part.

 _This young man was no more than 15 years old with black hair, green eyes with a scar going over his right one, a round yet still somewhat handsome face, and was about 5'6" tall. He was wearing a peach colored chefs outfit, with an orange stripe along with buttons running down the center, and a clashing pair of black lace-less leather shoes._

"Frozen already Shuzo Kubo? Or are you going to save yourself the humiliation of defeat and apologize to me now?" another a young man points out but in a vastly more arrogant tone of voice.

 _This 15 year-old young man was of African descent with dark colored skin to match, about 2-2.5 inches taller than this Shuzo, had yellow eyes, and a shaved head. Unlike Shuzo however; this man was far more casually dressed what with wearing a red polo shirt, black jeans, and a pair of light blue tennis shoes._

"You should worry about your own cooking Etana instead of trying to pick up something from my own." Shuzo said in such a cool and collected manner that it greatly contradicted how his internal voice sounded not too long ago.

 _Though nowhere near the size of the crowd the son of a certain special of the day diner drew in his first shokugeki, a crowd close to that size was watching this battle between two young talents go on._

"That other transfer student may have gotten lucky, but there's no way he can beat Etana." one student among the crowd said to a friend sitting next to him.

"Yeah no kidding. That other transfer student might not be risking his expulsion, but since Etana is one of the few guys here that specialize in African cuisine even among the teachers... there's no way that jerk can win." the friend of that student said in response.

 _Many more comments like this were going on, but the world should know from experience that no matter how skilled one side is... victory isn't guaranteed either way. Still a duel is about those participating in it and not observing it instead._

"You're right of course." Etana calmly says as he returns to his own workstation.

 _Etana had various pots, pans, knives, and several cooking tools of all kinds carefully stored on his side of the Shokugeki Arena, but as with all cooking challenges what's most important is what's being boiled in the proverbial pot. As Etana is engrossed in beating a unknown mixture with a whisk, one can see that not too far away lies the cracked remains of roughly 6-8 eggs and a bottle hastily labeled "Amarula Cream" turned on its side._

"I need to change up the recipe..." Shuzo thought as he continued to search for a way out of his current predicament.

 _Shuzo had nearly all of the same neatly arranged tools as Etana, but as for the ingredients... he had some milk, sugar, flower, eggs, cream, cinnamon power, and even salt resting gently in a large box next to a sealed cooler containing who knows what kind of ingredients. Among all of these, there's one ingredient Shuzo's eyes lock upon in specific._

"Cinnamon huh? Sigh... why am I thinking about what I made during the entr... that's it... I can make that to get rid of the metallic taste." Shuzo thought as he had a moment of inspiration right when he was about to step onto the precipice of defeat.

* * *

 _Now full of life one more Shuzo starts to mix some of the flour, eggs, salt, and milk he brought with him into a bowl with passion now that he knows there's a small chance he might pull through this shokugeki after all. Still... being a participant in one let alone being a student at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy was something originally far from his mind. Yet to explain how he's here now... that requires going back to the beginning._

"Are you awake young master?" an older sounding man asked.

 _That older sounding gentleman was actually a buttler in his late 50s or 60s, and he was knocking on the door to someone's bedroom... Shuzo's bedroom to be specific._

"I'm coming in young master." this buttler said as he gently turned the doorknob.

 _The door opened revealing a large bedroom cloaked in darkness as this dutiful butler walked inside. The only source of light in the room save for what's creeping through the open bedroom door is a flashing TV screen with a single video game playing on it. The light of the TV would have spread covered more of the bedroom were it not for a large mass on the floor right next to it._

"Sigh... not again..." the butler thought as he seemed to know what was going on as he flipped the lightswitch in the room and banished all of the darkness from it.'

 _Now that the butler can see, he finds that the mass on the floor next to the TV was actually Shuzo in a white t-shirt and pajama bottoms passed out over the still running game console as if he was using it for warmth like one would a fire place._

"Wake up young master, you passed out playing yours games through the night again." the butler said as he attempts to nudge Shuzo awake.

 _Now that there's light in the room you can see that it's rather large though nothing fancy by a wealthy man's standards, but everything in this room is still worth several years of even the most well paid middle-class worker's sallary._

"What is it Owari? It's 6:33 in the morning for god's sake." Shuzo said as he seems quite annoyed that Owari's constant nudging was able to raise him from an unconcious state.

"I apologize for disturbing your rest young master, but your father wished to see you at once before he's forced to leave on his buisness trip." Owari said in an apologetic tone as he explained the situation.

"Arghhh fine. Tell him I'll be there as soon as I get on a pair of pants." Shuzo said as he was now annoyed by the fact that he had to get on a pair of pants, but that was only strictly because of how tired he was.

 _The pants he got on was also nothing fancy by even middle-class standards. Getting back on topic; however, it was only a short distance to Shuzo's father's office yet in contrast with his son's room it was well decorated as a rich man's office should be._

"What's this about dad? I'm really tired right now so it better be good." Shuzo says to his father in a somewhat rude tone.

"Yes I apologize for disturbing your video game coma, but I wanted to ask one more time before you left. Are you sure that's where you want to go to school?" Mr. Kubo asks as he seems to be bringing up a subject that he's talked about with his son many times before.

"My dream is to be a video game designer dad, so yes I still want to go to Rengoku Academy since they offer some of the best programming and computer arts courses in the country." Shuzo boldly declared.

"I won't stop you if that's what you want to do then, but I refuse to help you pay for it." Mr. Kubo informed whilst seeming reluctant saying so.

 _In that moment all of the sleepiness was washed away from Shuzo's mind as if someone had decided to inject caffine directly into his bloodstream. It's quite clear that this news far from anything Shuzo had expected to hear today._

"What? Why? I mean I've put up with all those cooking lessons from private tutors you made me do just so I could go there. Besides... there's no way in hell I'd be able to pay for it on my own!" Shuzo yells.

"Your grandfather was a chef who built the company that pays for your food and puts a roof over your head under the premise of gourmet frozen dinners and bentos... then though I mostly manage the buisness rather than the cooking aspect now I still graduated from Tōtsuki Academy. Do you have any idea what people will say if I can't convince my own son to follow the family legacy?" Mr. Kubo said as he passionetly responds to his son's question with one of his own.

"You're seriously ordering this just because of an outdated social concept! That's completely rediculous!" Shuzo yelled before he turns to leave his father's office.

 _Shuzo doesn't even give his father a chance to respond, but instead he turns around and starts making the nessecary steps towards the door._

"Where are you going?" Mr. Kubo asks as his son had only walked 5 steps away from him.

"Back to my room to grab my cell phone so I can call mom, and have her get you off this vendetta you have against my career choice." Shuzo answered as he turned around to face his father.

"I'm afraid that's pointless." Mr. Kubo interjects before Shuzo could turn back around again.

"Why?" Shuzo asks both out of fear and curiosity.

"I wouldn't have had Owari wake you up if your mother didn't already agree with me, and you know it." Mr. Kubo explained as he's effectivley destroyed his son's only metaphorical path of retreat.

"Damn it." Shuzo thought as he now realizes that he's caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Still... I'm not such a cruel man where I'd deny my son a chance to follow his dreams." Mr. Kubo said as he starts to dangle a way out for his son.

"What do I have to do?" Shuzo asks as he starts to reach for this way out whether he realizes it or not.

 _Little did Shuzo realize that this way out was inactuality the bait on a fishing hook._

"It's really quite simple go to Tōtsuki Academy like how your older brother and Owari's daughter are and survive it's three years of hellish training. If you do I'll pay for your tuition to the best computer software focused colleges in the world as well as all of your other expenses as an adult, and I'll even throw in the best computer programming tutors I can afford to make up for the three years you'd miss at Rengoku Academy." Mr. Kubo said as he explains how lucrative the bait he's dangling in front of his son really is.

"Damn him... he knows he has me." Shuzo thought in much frustration as realized there's nothing he can do to turn the tables on his father and get him to change his mind.

"Well what will it be? Will you accept the deal I'm offering? Or will you attempt to pay for Rengoku Academy's tuition on your own?" Mr. Kubo asks as he makes it clear to his son with his tone of voice that this deal is off the table as soon as he leaves the room.

"Fine... I'll go to that damn school. When's the entrance exam for the high school section?" Shuzo asks as he realizes he has no choice but to accept his father's offer for the sake of his dream.

"This aftenoon, so I suggest you return to your room to get what sleep you can. Owari will explain the details on the way there for you." Mr. Kubo calmly answers.

"Yes... father." Shuzo retorts as he makes no effort to hide how incredibly irritated he his at this moment.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Etana: Sorry no fancy chapter preview.

Shuzo: Next time on Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués "The Wrong Room".


	2. The Wrong Room

**Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués**

 **Chapter 2**

 **The Wrong Room**

* * *

 _To summarize Shuzo Kubo had just been given an ultimatum by his father. Either he somehow finds a way to pay for the school he wants to go to on his own or he survives the 3 years of hell at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy's highschool division and gets everything he needs to accomplish his dream._ _Left wth no other way out, Shuzo accepts his father's deal and begins down the path that will decide what he truly wants to do with his life._

"Knowing you father, I'm assuming I'll find a Tōtsuki Academy uniform already tailored to my size in my closet?" Shuzo asks as he's calmed down a little in the short time between the previous chapter and now.

"Oh shoot... I knew I forgot to ask Owari to do something." Mr. Kubo said as he snaps his fingers due to a bout of self-annoyance.

"Wait... seriously?" Shuzo asks clearly dumbfounded as his father apparently rarely plays the role of a forgetful man.

"I'm only human Shuzo... even I forget things every now and then. Now then I have a meeting with an important client." Mr. Kubo said as he's trying to indirectly tell his son to get out of his office.

"If you don't mind my asking father, what kind of client?" Shuzo asks as he's either missing his father's indirect message or is ignoring it out of spite.

"A representative of reputable Canadian food distribution company. I'm hoping that we'll be able to have our company's gourmet pre-made foods sold in Canadian markets. Now seriously son... please leave." Mr. Kubo answered as he's now directly telling his son to get out of his office.

 _The large wooden doors to Mr. Kubo's office creaks open just enough to allow Shuzo to slip through only to close a few seconds after. Speaking of which... Shuzo is only able to talk about 5 more steps forward before his frustraton suddenly starts to leak out of him._

"Damn him and damn the chef's profession... fine then... I'll show him that I can prosper at Tōtsuki without having the dream of being a professional." Shuzo mumbled as he slammed his fist against the wall out of frustration.

"If your grandfather could here that he'd be rolling in his grave." Owari pointed out having heard Shuzo's outburst.

 _Owari had heard Shuzo's outburst because he was standing outside Mr. Kubo's home office the whole time. Perhaps it was because he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to go in and see the man responsible for his paycheck or maybe Owari was waiting for Shuzo to come out because he knew how the young master would react._

"No... he wouldn't Owari, but... I'm sorry you had to hear that. Pay it no mind as my words were no more than a rebelling teen venting his frustration at his inability to rebel against the authority that mattered." Shuzo said as he forces himself to give off a composed appearance.

"Apologies aren't necessary young master as I a here for you should you need a listening ear, but I know that you don't truly hate the chef's profession." Owari said.

"I appreciate that Owari, but out of curiosity did my father really forget to order a school uniform in advance? He normally doesn't let things like this slip past him after all." Shuzo asks out of curiosity as he decides to change the subject.

"Your father is only human young master... even he forgets things at times, but I didn't. In fact I had just came from your room as the maids were cleaning it to drop off a tailored uniform as well as an information packet for those who wish to attempt enter Tōtsuki Academy at the high school level." Owari calmly explained.

"Arghh... I told them several times to stop doing that since I'm fully capable of cleaning my own mess, but... thank you anyway Owari." Shuzo sighed as he was slightly annoyed that this minor request of his was ignored.

"What are you going to do now young master?" Owari asks out of simple curiosity.

"I suppose I'm going to go back to my room, shower, and change into one of the chef outfits my father got for me." Shuzo answered with a short yawn as he starts to stretch his arms one at a time across his chest.

"Chef's outfit?" Owari asks as he apparently didn't expect those words to come out of Owari's mouth.

"Yeah... one of the ones my father made me wear durring those lessons with you or whatever cooking tutor he decided to hire for private lessons at the time. Anyways if I'm seriously going try and get into Tōtsuki, it's better that I spend what time I can getting myself into a cooking mentality." Shuzo sighed as he scratched the the left side of his face.

"Then would you like for me to run you through a few warm-up exercises after you clean your self up?" Owari offers both out of concern and duty.

"Are you sure Owari? I mean don't you have other responsibilities to do today?" Shuzo asks as he was as interested in the elder butler's offer as he was caught off guard by it.

"I purposely had my work schedule re-arranged for today, so there will be no issue with conflict of interest young master. Besides... your happiness and well being is far more important than telling someone here where to place a statue or how to dust said statue." Owari explained as he didn't mind assisting Shuzo in the least.

"Alright... thank you again Owari, and I'll meet you in the kitchen in an hour." Shuzo gratefully said as he excuses himself from this conversation.

 _Owari continues to stand there as he watches Shuzo walk down the hallway, but right when the latter of the two was about to disappear around the corner Owari suddenly remembers something important._

"Oh wai-" Owari was about to say.

"Owari, I know your standing outside my office door. Could you please come here? I need you to quickly take care of something before you help my son!" Mr. Kubo yells through the other side of his home office door.

"He'll find out soon enough when she tries to tackle him." Owari quietly mumbles to himself as he turns around to face the door to Mr. Kubo's office.

* * *

 _The reason Shuzo told Owari that he'd meet him in an hour was due to the sheer size of his home. In fact... depending on his pace it normally takes Shuzo about 7-10 minutes to get to his father's office from his room. In any case once he arrives Shuzo finds his bedroom door wide open and his room clean and empty, but that was because it only needed a minor amount of maintenance anyway since he does pick up after himself._

"They really do a good job, but man... how many times have I told them that I can do this myself?" Shuzo sighed as he examined the current state of his room from the doorway into it.

 _Shuzo had only walked 5 steps into his room when... well you'll read about it soon enough._

"Shuzo-sama!" a young girl yelled.

"Ohhhh... shit." Shuzo thought as his instincts told him that danger approached the moment he heard that girl's voice.

 _Shuzo turned to his head to his right in the direction of the oncoming voice, and found a small feminine mass about a foot and a half shorter than he was speeding towards him like a cannonball on fire._

"No... not again." Shuzo thought as he jumps forward slightly allowing him to narrowly avoid the metaphorical cannonball on fire.

 _The little cannonball that could had expected Shuzo to be the net that would catch her, but since he had carefully stepped out of the way she tripped under the momentum generated by her own two feet. By doing so, she had slipped on the floor just enough to allow Shuzo to see that which covers what her thighs are attached to._

"Stand up already Inoue... I can see them." Owari said as he covered his eyes and turned his head away once he realized he was looking a the white barrier wrapped around her slightly tanned skin.

"Shuzo-sama, you pervert. This wouldn't be a problem if you didn't move." Inoue retorts as she picks herself off the ground and dusts herself off.

 _Inoue was 4 feet tall, had slightly tanned white skin, shoulder length black hair, one eye was green, the other eye was dark brown, and she was wearing Tōtsuki Academy's girl uniform for the middle school division._

"I wasn't going to let you tackle me!" Shuzo yells in response.

"Then at least let hug hug you as a sign of our reunion!" Inoue yelled as it seemed like that she was going to give Shuzo a bear hug with her tiny little body.

"Oh no you don't... I still have the bruise after the last time." Shuzo points out as he uses one arm to literally keep Inoue at arm's length.

"You're mean Shuzo-sama... I just wanted to show you how happy I was to see you after so long." Inoue said as she tries to give off the puppy dog eyes look.

"Okay... first of all could you please drop it with the unnecessary honorifics? We've known each other long enough where it's not necessary. Second... two weeks ago... that's when we last saw each other." Shuzo retorts slightly annoyed, but he still appreciated Inoue's attention.

"I can't do that Shuzo-sama. My dad and I owe too much to your family to act so informal around you, and well... two weeks is still a long time." Inoue says as if she's lecturing Shuzo.

"Argh... well fine... It is nice to see you again, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be with my brother at his place getting ready for the start of his 3rd year in high school division and your last year in the middle schol division?" Shuzo curiously asks as he guides Inoue to a set of tables and chairs he has in his room.

 _Before Inoue could answer Shuzo's question,the latter of these two quickly excused himself in order to provide his guest/old friend some of the refreshments he keeps in his room._

"Thank you... ahem you know how Yuichi-sama prefers doing everything on his own whenever possible. As for why I'm here... dad told me last night how you decided to go to Tōtsuki after all. You couldn't possibly know how happy it made me to hear that, but you're brother.. well." Inoue mumbled as she wasn't sure how to say what she had to say next.

"Let me guess..., he said something along the lines of a large horned animal's feces with an exclamation mark at the end." Shuzo sighed.

"Ha ha... pretty much yeah, but... I'm just happy since now I'll have a real chance to accomplish my dream." Inoue said as she smiles like a kid on a candy store.

 _The mere mention of the word "dream" suddenly makes Shuzo rubbed his hand against his neck out of guilt as if trying to remove or adjust a noose that's been tied around it. Just what could suddenly make him feel this way?  
_

"Yeah... say... umm... is that dream still the same one?" Shuzo sighs in a well hidden yet still somewhat sullen tone of voice.

"Of course Shuzo-sama, I still want to be the greatest sous chef in the world. Only someone like that is worthy of being your right hand when you become head chef of your on kitchen." Inoue answered as she looked at Shuzo with a smile filled with child-like innocence.

"Arghh... look if you want to be a chef then all the nore power to you, but you know... that's just not what I want to do with my life. For me Tōtsuki is just a means to an end... though you can probably say the same thing about everyone else that's going there." Shuzo mumbles as he just doesn't know what to say to Inoue as the guilt he's already feeling starts to pile up.

"I don't believe that Shuzo-sama! I know you love to cook, but you don't want to admit it because of what your family name means. Tōtsuki will make you see what I see about yourself, and even if on the tiny chance I'm wrong I'll still support you because I am forever your loyal servant." Inoue yelled as a part of her doesn't want to accept Shuzo's goals in life.

 _Shuzo didn't have anything to say in response to this... he just sat there as he stared at the face of an old friend. A part of him appreciated Inoue's declaration of loyalty, but another part felt guilt akin to being slowly and repeatedly being stabbed with a knife._

"She... Inoue doesn't deserve to have her fate tied into mine. Damn you father... play with my life if you want, but don't drag her with me." Shuzo thought as he put on a smile for Inoue's benefit.

"What are you going to do now Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks as she decides to be the one that breaks the minute long silence created between them.

"I'm going to go take a shower and meet your dad in the kitchen. I need to warm up for the entrance exam."Shuzo calmly answered as he quickly got up from his seat.

"If that's what you think is best Shuzo-sama." Inoue responds.

 _Shuzo stands where he is as he stares at Inoue having originally expected her to do something with that news, but after a minute she just sits there as if not realizing the point Shuzo was getting at or choosing to ignore it if she does._

"You're not going to leave?" Shuzo sighs as he just decides to get the problem out of the way.

"I only moved in with your brother to help him at Tōtsuki at your father's request, but I've always been your attendant Shuzo-sama. As such I'm duty bound to assist you in all aspects of your life." Inoue explains as if and not in a dirty way that she expects to join Shuzo in the bathroom.

"Okay... here we go." Shuzo sighs out of annoyance as he's simply not going to have any of the above.

 _Shuzo's next move isn't anything overtly complex. He simply walks towards Inoue, bends down, and hoists her head first over his shoulder._

"Shuzo-sama, what are you doing?!" Inoue yells as she clearly didn't expect Shuzo to make such a move.

 _Shuzo walks over to the pricipice of his bedrom doorway with Inoue in tow, places her safely on her own two feet, and closes the door in her face._

"That's so rude Shuzo-sama! Besides we used to take bathes together!" Inoue yells through the other side of Shuzo's bedroom door.

"That's when we were like 5... we are soooo way past tha now!" Shuzo retorts.

"What's wrong with wanting to go back to the roots of our relationship?" Inoue asks.

"A lot of things mostly a few public decency laws! Now Inoue; if you break into my bathroom wearing nothing but a towel with the intention of scrubbing my back again... I won't be anywhere near as pleasent about it as I used to be!" Shuzo yelled as he starts to walk towards his personal bathroom.

"Awww.." Inoue sighs as she decides to relent on the issue for her own wellbeing.

 _A quick shower and a short walk later, Shuzo had already been put to work so to speak by his main cooking mentor Owari while Inoue observed. In a single timed challenge Shuzo has already picked a part onions, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and even beef for a change of pace through various knife techniques._

"... and time." Owari declared as he glanced back and forth between Shuzo and a watch normally hidden under his sleeve.

"Tch... damn I didn't even get to the green & red peppers, the chives, or the chicken bones." Shuzo thought as he's apparently failed to complete whatever task he was assigned.

"I had expected a drop in performance since most of your time durring this spring break was consumed by your school's spring fesitval, but quite this much." Owari said as he seems somewhat alarmed by his observations of Shuzo's work.

"Is that that a huge 'this much' or a small 'this much'?" Shuzo asks seeing as how his ability partially depends on his ability to use a knife and more.

"It's more like it's... something in between the two." Owari answered as he took a moment to seriously think about the young master's question.

"Tch... not good enough then." Shuzo said clicking his tounge as he was disappointed with his results.

"Don't look so dissapointed Shuzo-sama. You're still a lot faster than most of the 3rd year middle school students." Inoue said as she attempts to console Shuzo.

"It's still not good enough. If that was my assigned task in a professional kitchen... I would have been fired on that alone." Shuzo retorts.

"Inoue..." Owari said as he starts to look at his daughter with as serious expression on his face.

"I know... I know daddy... if I'm not working in the kitchen then I shouldn't interfere with those who are. You've told me that several times." Inoue mumbles to herself as she backs off to the edge of what Shuzo is using as his work-space.

"Inoue is right about one thing... your current skills are probably just enough to get you in the door at Tōtsuki, but if you really want to get back at your father and 'thrive' at that school... then your current ability is no where near enough. Of course... I didn't need to say any of that since you already realized that yourself." Owari points out as he walks right up to Shuzo.

"I used the wrong kind of knives for the beef, tomoatoes, and the onions... that cost me about 3 or 4 when temporal desperation kicked in... I either didn't use the right knife techniques or made mistakes as I used the right ones. No... I can't use that kind of shoddy work at that place." Shuzo mumbled to himself as he didn't even realize that Owari was standing next to him.

 _This simple knife exercise that Owari had Shuzo undertake might seem extremely inconsequential to an ordinary person and might not make a big deal out of it, but Shuzo had good reason to be frustrated with himself. Tōtsuki Academy is the kind of school where if you're lacking in one aspect of a chef's skill set... you may as well never have had those skills in the first place._

"Hmm... oh sorry I didn't see you. What do you want me to do next Owari?" Shuzo asks as he starts to quickly wash his hands in preparation for round 2.

"I'm going to have you do this same challenge over again. Now that you're aware of your mistakes... I'm positive that you'll do a lot better this time around." Owari quickly answers.

 _After a few minutes Shuzo finds himself once again using his knife skills to slice, chop, or cut various fruits/meats/vegetables. He works quickly and doesn't make most of the mistakes he did in his previous attempts. Slightly rusty as he may be, Shuzo has shown that his ability hasn't gone completely out the window._

"And once again... that's time Shuzo." Owari announced as he paid particular attention to the hand that counts the seconds on his watch.

"Damn it... I still didn't finish." Shuzo thought as he became even more frustrated with himself.

 _In fact he's gotten so frustrated that Shuzo would have probably pounded his fist on the kitchen counter-top were it not for the risk of flinging food all over the place._

"Don't get so frustrated Shuzo-sama... you did a lot better than your first time through." Inoue points out as she once again attempts to console Shuzo.

"For once she's right." Owari interjects.

"Excuse me, but 'for once' dad?" Inoue retorts as she seems slightly annoyed by her father's comment.

"You know what I mean... as for you Shuzo, this was a massive improvement over your last attempt. You were able to make your way to the last item I asked you to deal with, and I only saw 3 mistakes with your knife handling compared to the 12 in your previous attempt." Owari points out to Shuzo right after addressing his daughter.

"Even so... I know that school's reputation... if I can't do my job perfectly each time than there's no way I can survive at that school." Shuzo said as he puts down the knife in his hand.

"Perfection is a horrible goal to strive for Shuzo... and you should take this in too Inoue because once you think your perfect you'll stop getting better and fall behind instead of rising to the top. This isn't something exclusively for cooking... this is a truth that applies to all those who wish to improve something they care about." Owari said.

"You're right, but I can't quite seem to bring myself to accept that fact." Shuzo said as he takes Owari's words somewhat to heart.

"No matter you don't have to get it right away, but the ability to handle a knife isn't the only skill you'll need to survive there. The ability to be a leader, to manage your workplace, judging quality ingredients, innovating the here and now, honoring the traditions of cooking, and of course the act of actually cooking. That last one is what we're going to be moving onto next using the ingredients I've had you prepare in the knife handling speed trial." Owari informed as the fact that he speaks from experience is heavily ingrained in each word.

"Yes sir... let me just wash my hands again before we get started." Shuzo said as Owari's words though he hides it well seems to have helped cheer him up a bit.

 _Water was poured into a pot that was placed on active burner, the ingredients that were handled by Shuzo's knife were gathered together, and soon enough the smell of what may be a delicious meal started to waft throughout the kitchen and beyond. Speaking of beyond, once it reached that point other staff-members of the Kubo household started to gather in the kitchen one by one._

"I don't believe it... Shuzo-sama is actually cooking again. Wow it's been a while since I've tried anything he's made." a random maid mumbled to herself as she but one of many to appear in the kitchen.

"Ha... I told you he'd probably be cooking today after what his father put into motion... as promised you have to cover my next shift." one of the Kubo's male employees said as he starts to brag about him winning an apparent debt.

"Hmm... it's done." Shuzo thought as he samples the soup stock of whatever he's made via a ladle and a sake cup.

 _Once he was satisfied, Shuzo turned off the stove and started to clean up a portion of the mess he made at the start of this little warm-up session of Owari's. It wasn't until 3 minutes has passed until Shuzo bothered to face his mentor and his old friend._

"When did all these people get here?" Shuzo asks of Owari as he finally realizes the presence of the multiple observers.

"If it's alright with you Shuzo-sama, I'd like to answer for all of us by saying it's because we took in the smell that was coming out of the kitchen as each of us was passing by on our own assignments." said the apparent leader of this small group of employees as he walked to the forefront of them.

"You're... Eizo... Eizo Kaza correct?" Shuzo asks as he struggles to remember what he believes to be the name of this particular employee.

"You're close Shuzo-sama, but it's actually Kaza Eizo. Still I'm honored that you remembered my name." Kaza said as he bows out o respect to his employer's son.

"I did nothing that requires for you to bow your head to me. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you for getting your name wrong." Shuzo retorts as he does the same in turn.

 _One by one the few members of the house's staff started to ask Shuzo a variety of things. Some were mundane yet standard questions like "How did it feel to see Inoue again?" and others like "Why are you cooking?" were more on key to the situation._

"In a nutshell... I decided to go to Tōtsuki after all and rise to the top for the sake of my own dream." Shuzo said as he purposely tells a broad account of the truth.

"Amazing Shuzo-sama, so you're going to aim for the top just like your Yuichi-sama?" one of the staff members said out of excitement.

"I heard you didn't want to go into the same field as the rest of your family, but I guess you couldn't ignore the Kubo blood flowing in your veins after all." another member of the present staff said as he excitedly pats Shuzo on the back.

"Ha ha thanks, but it's not really that special." Shuzo chuckled as he puts on a smile that's for nearly all those watching.

 _There's one truth and one lie about this smile of Shuzo's. The truth is he really did smile for the sake of all the people here being employed by his father, but the lie was that he didn't mean the smile. In fact he only put on the smile because it seemed like it was expected of him in that social situation._

"There's enough to go around if any of you are hungry." Shuzo said as he was more than willing to ofer the house's staff some of whatever it was he had prepared.

"I'd think we'd all love to try some of your cooking again after so long, but first what exactly did you make?" Kaza asks as he once again decides to speak for the will of the group.

"It's my attempt at one of Owari's original recipes. It's a soup made of lightly salted & peppered chicken and beef. The stock was made from carefully simmered chives/carrots/tomato juice. The rest was garnished with sauteed green and red peppers, sauteed onions, and carefully diced potatoes that were steamed with cumen and paprika." Shuzo answered as he summarized the contents of the pot where steam is still escaping from.

"Owari-san, what do you call this particular dish?" Kaza asks out of honest to goodness curiosity.

"It's one of my oldest recipes, but I've never been able to settle on what to call it. For now it remains as a nameless dish." Owari answered.

"Then as our boss next to Kubo-sama himself, do you mind if we take a break from our assigned duties to sample some of the young master's cooking?" Kaza asks as he and all of the other employees behind him wish to avoid unwittingly getting into trouble.

"A meal is better when there are more people together to enjoy it, so for those of you here willing to go past the initial curiosity that drew you here... then feel free to grab a bowl and a spoon." Owari said as he didn't object to Kaza's request.

 _If anything Owari was hoping that anyone here if not Kaza would ask exactly that. What was supposed to be a warm-up exercise for Shuzo had turned into an impromptu taste testing survey. With Inoue volunteering to assist, it only took Shuzo about 5 or 6 minutes to pour everyone here a bowl._

"Here we go." Kaza thought just before wrapped his tongue around his first spoonful of Shuzo's concoction.

 _Kaza's cheeks started to transform into a flushed color as it was filled with the warmth of the soup, and his legs nearly gave in as if the pleasure he felt from the taste was overpowering the nerve center in his brain._

"The taste of these fresh ingredients and how they blend together remind me of how I used to run around working on my uncle's farm as a kid." Kaza thought as he was already in the middle of experiencing his second spoonful.

 _And with Kaza's second bite the world around him is washed away in a torrent of the very same soup stock that helped make what he holds in his hands. The torrent of flavor is so strong that it drags his mind back to the very years he had just described._

"Come on boy, go get the ball!" the young Kaza said as he was busy playing with a golden retriever puppy.

 _He was wearing a large straw hat and the kind of plaque red colored shit you'd see more of the stereotypical description of a western farmer, but he was a happy little boy none the less._

"Kaza, come here and help me feed the pigs!" Kaza's uncle yelled from somewhere else on this farm.

"I'll be right there uncle!" the young Kaza yelled in turn.

 _The young boy starts to run as fast as his little legs could take him. He ran through fields of green onions, fields of red onions, of potatoes, of carrots, a chicken coop, and so on and so own in that order. Ironically the order he runs through these fields of home grown veggies and fruits is in the exact same order the Kaza in the modern day tastes first from the bowl in his hand._

"Delicious... thank you for letting me have this chance Shuzo-sama." Kaza mumbled.

"Excuse me, but can I have another bowl?" another employee among this group asked.

"Amazing Shuzo-sama, they all loved it. You see... you're a lot better at this than you realize." Inoue pointed out as she takes a great deal of delight in seeing people eat Shuzo's cooking.

"No... it's still not good enough. It's not good enough to be anywhere close to Yuichi's level, nor is it anywhere near enough to be the best of the first years... assuming I even get in." Shuzo retorts right after sampling the completed dish himself.

"Comparing it to when I make this recipie; the potatoes were steamed slightly longer and at a slightly higher temperature, the tomato juice wasn't properly blended into the soup stock, and I could go on but you shouldn't constantly beat yourself up young master. If you do, then you won't even last the first month at that school." Owari points as he finally decides to taste Shuzo's attempt at one of his recipies.

"It doesn't change the truth." Shuzo retorts as he struggles to keep his frustration bottled up.

"No it doesn't... right now your skill is no where near enough for you to take the top, but no one no matter how talented starts that high up. This dish was still excellent Shuzo, and it proves right now that you have enough ability to walk through Tōtsuki's front door. When you do take in everything you see from your teachers, your classmates, your lessons, and use it all to become stronger." Owari said in a confidently strong yet booming tone of voice.

"It's like my dad says Shuzo-san, if you can make something this good than whatever Tōtsuki proctor you get for the entrance exam will have to let you in." Inoue points out as she tries to improve Shuzo's mood her own way.

"Thanks guys... I really appreciate it." Shuzo said as the combined effort of father and daughter seems to have improved his mood a bit.

"The only way you'd possibly be rejected is if you got off on the wrong foot with your examiner, and the chances yours will be the only person prideful enough to be like that is incredibly slim." Owari said.

"Ah you mean-" Inoue was saying as she seemed to realize who her father was referring to.

"Yes her, but... oh look at the time Shuzo... if you had better shower again and chance if you want to make the entrance exam on time." Owari informs as he happened to look at his watch for no particular reason.

* * *

 _Ah yes just who is that person Inoue and Owari are referring to anyway? In any case imagine that your looking upon a beautiful serene waterfall. Then all of a sudden your eyes are drawn to the bottom of the waterfall where you see a beautiful well "blessed" maiden, with honey blond hair, and pink eyes peacefully standing in the water. Suddenly and without warning the upper half of her face goes blue out of pain and shock as somehow she was hit square in the head with a jukebox and yet kept standing._

"Disgusting!" this blond maiden yells.

 _And then as what is now revealed to have been an illusion ends, this same young girl is towering above a small group of chefs that are on their knees. Once again without warning this girl smashes a bowl of soup into the face of the chef that made it so hard that it sends him flying back several feet... yet she does so with such control that she doesn't break the bowl in the process._

"How dare you serve me such a terrible soup! It tasted like I was standing peacefully under a waterfall, when a jukebox playing awful music came crashing down on me!" the young lady yelled with hate and clear professional damnation directed towards the chef she had just sent flying.

"A jukebox?" a glasses wearing chef whispers to the pair of colleagues around him lest he wish to draw this woman's wrath.

"That's really deep." a chef with a round face mumbled to himself.

 _Suddenly this woman directs her attention towards those chefs with the nerve to speak while she's talking, of which is an act that sends chills so far down their spines that it may as well be coming out of the other end. Before she could say anything her attention was drawn back to the person she brained with a soup bowl._

"I'm so sorry, Erina ojou-sama!" that unfortunate chef yelled as he begged for forgiveness like his life depended on it.

"Honestly... I can't even laugh at this... not even by the slightest amount." Erina said aloud as if this act of being a taste tester was so far beneath her that it would be like asking the mythical creators of our world to clean up vomit in a cafeteria.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Erina: Just what do you think you're doing?!

Shuzo: What do you mean? It's perfectly normal for chefs working in the same kitchen to seek each other's help every now and then.

Soma: He's right you know.

Shuzo: Next time on Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués «The Wrong Room Part II ».


	3. The Wrong Room II

**Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Wrong Room II**

* * *

 _Hundreds if not thousands of droplets of water are being forced out of a shower head at a vigorous pace as they cleans the stress caused by the morning's events from Shuzo's body. The man has every right to be stressed seeing as how the winning image he had in his mind for his future had its supports knocked out from under it, but if he can survive that school he'll be able to put it back on track._

"Damn...I always thought of myself as someone who could stay cool under pressure." Shuzo thought as he leans one of his hands against the wall in order to keep himself upright.

 _The steam from the shower fills Shuzo's bathroom such that his body is barely visible behind the shower door._

"So I should take everything I learn and use it to become stronger is that it?" Shuzo mumbles as he's unable to take his mind off of his mentor's words.

"Becoming the strongest anywhere is no easy task, but I know that you'll fight the act of simply becoming stronger much easier so long as you have the necessary conviction." Shuzo's subconscious said to himself using Owari's voice as a medium.

"I know that, but I think... I've never really desired to become strong. I want to become the person I've always imagined I'd be in my dream. Yuichi, I know we really don't get along but I could really use your advice right now big brother." Shuzo retorts as if he's begun to have a conversation with himself.

"Is this really my little brother that swore to walk down his own path instead of our family's? Going to that school is a means to an end for every student there myself included, and now it's a means to an end for you. Your dream is a reason to have a strong heart not a weak will." Shuzo's subconscious said to himself this time using his older brother's voice as a medium.

"I know I'm a little weak hearted and I might even be saying this just as an excuse, but even if I do find the resolve to go down this road... Inoue will follow me out of blind loyalty instead of walking down her own path. I need to make her realize that brother... even if she ends up hating me for it." Shuzo points out in a sullen tone as he washes his hair with an odorless shampoo.

"It makes me happy that you concern yourself with my well-being the way you do Shuzo-sama, but you don't need to feel guilty about it. I chose to follow the same path as you because it's you, and not because of an oath of loyalty to your family." Shuzo's subconscious seemingly said, this time using Inoue's voice as a medium.

"Ha... that helps make me feel a little better... believe me it does, but... it certainly doesn't get rid of the swell of emotions within me." Shuzo mumbles as he appreciates his literal 'subconscious effort' to give him a pep talk.

"How about I get rid of that swell of emotions by washing your back?" this supposed subconscious incarnation of Inoue playfully asks.

"Ha ha ha ha. Sure... open the shower door and jump inside. I don't mind at all." Shuzo heartily laughs as he takes this as his subconscious's way of cheering him up with a joke.

"Alright... let me just wrap this towel around me Shuzo-sama." Shuzo's subconscious recreation of Inoue said.

"Yeah sure go ahea... wait what?" Shuzo mumbles as he realizes that he may not be having a conversation with his subconscious mind after all.

 _Without even batting an eyelash, Shuzo reaches for the towel he placed in the only area the spray of the shower can't reach. After wrapping it tightly around his waist Shuzo throws upon the shower-stall door with such force that it even shakes almost everything not already bolted to the ground._

"Ah... I'll just be a minute Shuzo-sama... just need to tuck in the last bit of this towel." Inoue mumbled as she glanced down at the loose bit of towel sticking out of her flat-chest.

 _The reason Inoue said that is because she the real person with a large towel wrapped around her chest was standing in-front of Shuzo rather than a subconscious incarnation, though if he saw the latter Shuzo would probably need some professional help._

"First... how much did you hear me say?" Shuzo asks out of a combination of extreme embarrassment and irritation directed towards Inoue.

 _Shuzo had one hand on the towel around his waist and the other over his eyes in order to prevent him from seeing anything he didn't want to, however he did keep a small enough space open between his fingers so he could see Inoue's head... and only her head._

"Well let's just say I do a pretty good impression of daddy and your brother. I mean it did help you feel better didn't it." Inoue said with a smile as she honestly doesn't see anything wrong with what she did.

 _So it seems this Shuzo has been having a conversation with a very good impersonator rather than his subconscious thoughts. Should Shuzo be mad or incredibly embarrassed by that I wonder?_

"I admit it helped a little considering how nervous I'm feeli... Don't try and change the subject!" Shuzo suddenly yells as he snaps with rage, "Now how many times have I told you to stop breaking into my room?"

"Hmmmmm... let me think." Inoue mumbles as she has to pause herself in order to seriously think about the issue, "I think... slightly north of thirty times this year."

"Yeah well... I shouldn't have to deal with that at all!" Shuzo yells as he yells as he steps out of the shower-stall and a section of towel on Inoue's back.

"Oh Shuzo-sama... I didn't think you'd be so bold." Inoue yelps as her cheeks start turning red.

 _Worry not for nothing M-rated shall be occurring here this morning, but rather a change of scenes that show the outside of Shuzo's bedroom door._

* * *

"Alright... there's no one in the hall." Shuzo thought as he stuck his head out of his bedroom door.

 _Shuzo opened his bedroom door all the way revealing himself to still be wearing a towel tightly around his waist, and the man himself to be holding Inoue by the back of her towel like how a medieval soldier would carry a portable battering ram._

"Shuzo-sama... what are you doing?" Inoue asks, but she already has a hunch as to what that is.

"Fooooooorrrrrreee!" Shuzo screams as he pulls both his arms back.

 _And then Shuzo throws all his weight behind his arms as he thrusts them forward throwing Inoue several feet down the hall._

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Inoue screams as the wind covers her face.

 _Shuzo quickly slams his bedroom door shut, locks it, and based on the sound of the shuffling feet... barricades it slightly so Inoue who's proverbial flight is starting its descent can't get in as easily._

"Shuzo-sama... you're mean. If I knew you were interested in that kind of rough foreplay I would have prepared myself better.

"So you decided to show him your affection in your own special way again after all." a certain someone said.

 _That certain someone was Inoue's father Owari, of whom was standing a few inches away from where his daughter landed with a new Tōtsuki academy uniform still in it's plastic wrap._

"I personally don't think you should have done that. The young master is already under enough stress as it is having his intended future effectivley tossed out the window." Owari points out as he looks away while Inoue puts on the outfit.

 _Well there is a point where a father looking at his daughter in the nude can get creepy, and Owari is certainly... way past that point._

"I know that he's under a lot of stress father." Inoue retorts in a calm demanor that sharply contrasts with her earlier energetic attitude.

 _Within a minute or two Inoue puts on her new or spare uniform depending on your perspective, and starts to fit the part of a prim and proper private school girl once more._

"But that's exactly why I did it father. By directing his energies towards me... Shuzo-sama will be able to forget about his stressors... if only for a little while." Inoue said continuing her earlier point with a sullen expression on her face.

"Yes well... I don't mind you doing such a thing, but... does it really have to be in such a promiscous manner?" Owari asks his daughter as if he wasn't sure this was a subject he should be approaching

"But if I don't Shuzo-sama will never realize my feelings are more than mere loyalty." Inoue points out having reverted back to her bubbly energetic attitude from earlier.

"But you could just..." Owari was about to say, but shakes his head having decided against it, "Nevermind... the car will be here soon, so just try and stay out of trouble until then."

"No promises father, but... I'll try my best." Inoue replies in a cute tone.

 _In less than an hour Shuzo was walking out of his residence's main entrance wearing the first thing he pulled out of his closet. This was still a prestigious private school that Shuzo was attempting to get into esentially last minute, so the thing he pulled out of his closet was a simple white shirt, blue tie and slacks. Inoue being the dutiful person she is was trailing behind Shuzo._

"I swear I hate wearing these demi-versions of monkey suits." Shuzo groaned as there always seemed to be one part of his outfit that was on too tight or too loose.

"You have several outfits that are far more comfortable." Inoue points out as she helps straighten out Shuzo's outfit as they walk.

"I do, but those are for casual outings. If I went toTōtsuki dressed like that they'd laugh me right out the door before letting me near a test proctor." Shuzo mumbles as he stretches out his right arm.

 _Instead of Shuzo's walkway being lined with butlers and maids like how one might stereotypically see in other works... it's empty save for a single black town car with the engine running, and Owari standing next to the passenger door with a small case in his hand._

"I wish you luck on this trial young master, and when you get there... please follow Inoue's directions on campus as it's easy to get lost given the sheer size of Tōtsuki academy. We wouldn't want to have a repeat of what happened last time." Owari said in a more stern tone than he normally uses with Shuzo.

"What happened last time Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks as surprisingly enough she doesn't seem to know about the incident her father's talking about.

"It happened when I went to go cheer on my brother for his transfer exam." Shuzo answers as his mind becomes flooded with the details of that past event.

"You went to cheer on Yuichi-sama?" Inoue said with a surprised expression that indicated hell had metaphoricaly frozen over.

"Just because we chose to walk different paths doesn't mean I don't care about what my brother does, so it's not that surprising." Shuzo retorts as he tries to get Inoue to change the expression on her face before it's stuck like that, "Still... I don't want to talk about it."

"He got lost, wandered into the warehouse the Worlds Biggest Food Records Reasearch Society's was using, and fell into a giant pot of tomato sauce." Owari said in a non-chalant manner as he decides to satisfy his child's curiosity.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha." Inoue yells as he busts out laughing to the point where she almost starts to have trouble standing upright.

"There was a heavy fog and wearhouse loading bay doors were open!" Shuzo yells as he turns red from embarrassment.

 _Which was of course no where near as red as Shuzo was all those years ago, but with a quick hand gesture on Owari's part everything went back to buisness as usual._

"Ahem... your future rests upon what you do for the next three years at that school, but passing the transfer exam is the first step. With that in mind your father gave me something to help tip the odds in your favor." Owari said in an official-like tone as he holds ou the case he was carrying to Shuzo.

 _Having let curiosity get the better of him, Shuzo opens the case and finds a beautifuly crafted chef's knife certainly worth far more than what the average man would make in a year as well as the few simple tools needed to maintain it._

"This is a chef's knife your father had specifically made to your measurments. It should feel like an extension of your arm, so I hope you use it well." Owari explained as he offered a polite bow to the young master.

"Thank you Owari... and I guess tell the old man thanks as well." Shuzo sighs as he reluctantly says the latter part of that sentence.

"I'll be sure to pass on the message." Owari smirks, "Now you two should be on your way or the exam will be over before you know it."

"What he said Shuzo-sama... now move it." Inoue interjects as she pushes Shuzo towards the town car all the while thinking, "If all goes well I'll get to have Shuzo-sama to myself for the better part of three years."

* * *

 _Shuzo's three year journey into the cooking hell that is Tōtsuki Academy finally begins as the black town car pulls out of the driveway. Now it just becomes a matter of passing the first trial when he actually gets there, however that part of the journey itself is mostly silent. Perhaps it was due to the combination of his father's unexpected news and Inoue's display, but even the driver seems to only able to get a few words out of him at a time._

"We're almost there young master. It should only be another five to ten minutes." the driver informs looking over his shoulder for only a second as the light infront of him turned green.

"What are you thinking about Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks as she takes it upon herself to break the monatonus silence permiating this confined space.

"I'm thinking about my parents... though my father is more on my mind than my mother." Shuzo answers somewhat coldly as he stares out of the town car's window.

 _Perhaps it was because Shuzo himself was tired of the silence... or maybe he no longer wished to keep his thoughts to himself, but at least he was saying something._

"You know your parents would'nt do this if they didn't care for you Shuzo-sama." Inoue points out as she decides to scoot a little closer to the young master.

"In retrospect this certainly fits something my father would do." Shuzo explains as the expression on his face changes from an uninterested look to one who had just experienced betrayal, "I never expected my mother to go along with it. I must admit... it feels as though she personally slamned a door in my face."

"Your mother has always supported what you wanted to do with your life Shuzo-sama, so she would never do anything to betray her sons trusts." Inoue retorts as she tries to cheer up the young master in her own cheery way.

"Then if mother knew what he was planning... why didn't she try to warn me at all?" Shuzo points out as he turns to face Inoue with the same saddened expression he had looking out of the car window.

"Well Shuzo-sama... I can only think of two possibilities." Inoue points out as the serious expression of the young man sitting next to her forces her to be serious in turn, "Well you haven't been able to get in contact with her since your father dropped that bombshell so it's possible that he only said your mother approved to get you to go along with it, but it's-"

"But it's far more likely that because she knew that my father is a man of his word, she threw her lot in with him knowing that once I... no if I managed to come out of that school from hell alive he'd no longer be able to object to my career choice." Shuzo interupts perhaps due to knowing both how Inoue and his father thinks.

"Shuzo-sama, it's more than just taking up the family name. Your father is doing this to ignite the love of cooking that he knows is there within you." Inoue thought as a temporary frown appeared on her face as quickly as it disappeared.

"Your probably wondering why I asked that even though I lready ad a hunch on my mother's thinking aren't you Inoue?" Shuzo asks.

"A little Shuzo-sama." Inoue answers as the young master seems to bring her back to reality.

"There's no complex reason really... I suppose it's the classical 'You'll feel better if you talk abou it' bit, but thanks for listening regardless." Shuzo says greatfuly with a slight smile as he places his hand on top of Inoue's head, "So thank you for listening to my griping."

"Mewww... it's not a problem Shuzo-sama." Inoue retorts as imination of a cat's purring aside, she seems to greatly enjoy the young master's dispay of affection.

"Surving that school would be a lot easier with you at my side Inoue... there's no question that's a fact, but I'll do it all on my own as much as possible so she'll be able to walk down her own path... even if you end up hating me for it later." Shuzo thought as he retracts his hand from Inoue's head and returns his attention back to the fading scenery in the car window.

"Pardon me young master, but we've arrived." the said as both he, Shuzo, and Inoue could already feel the car start to slow down.

 _The driver of the town car being the dutiful servant of the Kubo family he was opens the door for Shuzo, of whom (the driver not Shuzo) due to also being a bit of a gentlemen opens the car door for Inoue as well._

"I'll take the car to the closest parking lot, so once your done young master simply let Inoue know and I'll bring the car back around." the driver informs before actually driving off.

 _As Shuzo ignores the pitter patter as well as the chitter chatter of the other hopefull high school aplicants, the first site he's drawn to amongst the many in this massve school is a large palace like building covered in shadow as if extended into the heavents like the Babel Tower._

"I hate the idea of being strict with you Shuzo-sama, but please be sure to follow my directions. In a place like Tōtsuki... two years is enough for the layout to significantly change, so we wouldn't want you to bwaha ha ha ha ha... ahem... fall into a large pot of tomato sauce." Inoue points as she quickly remembers the emarassing story her father told her earlier.

"Shut up!" Shuzp quietly yells as he on the other hand has no desire to remember that particular chain of events.

 _As Shuzo walks through the school's main entrance he can't help but take notice of all of the students as well as potetial applicants walking about the campus around him. They all came here to dedicate every fiber of their beeing to cooking, so there's one think he can't help but wonder._

"How would all of these people react if they found out I'm only dedicating myself to cooking for the sake of becoming a game designer? Would they consider my presence an insult to Tōtsuki's legacy? Or would they understand that my resolve is no different then theirs even if the end result is different?" Shuzo thought as he couldn't help but consider how others would see over the course of the next three years.

 _That is of course only if the young master can prove he has what it takes to survive the next three years, but right now his only focus is getting his foot in Tōtsuki's proverbial door._

"Please reverse your desicion about not accepting my son into the academy! My family owns owns one of the top farming industries in the world! I'll give Tōtsuki all of our best product for free if that's what it takes." a desperate father pleas.

 _Shuzo looks to his right and finds a middle-aged man practically wrapping himself around some guy dressed in a black suit and tie. He (that is the person with their legs being wrapped around) looks more like a secret service agent rather than an entrance exam proctor._

"I'm just a security guard! If your son didn't get in then he wasn't good enough, so let go my leg old man!" the security guard guard yelled as he shaked his right pants leg like he had a giant ant up his pants.

 _Due to all of the yelling more of that lone security guard's colleauges show up and eventually rip that old man off his leg, and escourt him off Academy grounds... along with a large section of that lone security guard's pants leg, but that's an embarassing tale for another time._

"I'm sorry you had to see that Shuzo-sama, but that's exactly why Tōtsuki has to hire so much extra muscle in order to deal with all of the frantic relatives and frantic parents.

"Ha ha ha!" Shuzo yells suddenly busting out laughing much to Inoue's surprise and concern.

"Shuzo-sama, why are you laughing? I know this is out of character for me to say, but you have to be serious right now." Inoue points out in an urgent tone of voice.

"Ha ha... sorry." Shuzo replies as after a minute he's finally able to bring his laugheter under control, "Seeing that just rattled my nerves so much that I had to laugh if I wanted to stay calm."

"Are you feeling better now?" Inoue curiously asks.

"Yeah... come on and let's get going." Shuzo said with a smile as he gently pats Inoue on the back.

 _This unlikely pair was only able to walk a few more feet onto academy grounds before another incident occured._

"Listen up, this academy isn't for the liks of you!" a young teenager yelled.

 _Inoue turned and saw some potential applicant wearing a blue sweater vest standing haughty over another teen with red hair and a scar over his eye, of whom looked as though they were just kicked to the ground._

"This place is a sacred grove of learning, meant soley for the upper echelons of the food industry! That's the kind of place Tōtsuki Teahouse Culinary Academy is! Some low-born diner man child wouldn't even make it past the written exam!" the student wearing the sweater vest yelled as if he had the word of god behind him.

 _With that blatant insult to his pride as a chef being made, a flash of anger passed over the red haired teen immediatley got up and with one hand lifted the haughty teen off the ground by the metaphorical hoist of his petard._

"You haven't even tried Yukihira's food! You don't get the right to judge our quality!" the red haired teen yelled.

 _Rather than make a bigger scene, the red haired teen drops the haugty teen of whom was now somewhat foaming at the mouth to the ground and walks away._

"At Tōtsuki your origins and pedigree are irrelevant. As long as you're strong you can rise to the top, so that guy got what he deserved for mocking another potential student's resturaunt. Still... the way that other guy reacted was a bit much... don't you think so Shu.." Inoue says casually as she looks over her shoulder.

 _Inoue found absolutley nothing but air when she looked over her shoulder. She then frantically looks in all directions, however she's unable to pick out her beloved Shuzo-sama amongst the crowd of potential applicants. From there it only takes Inoue half a second to realize that Shuzo must have kept walking and ignored the scuffle between those two potential applicants._

"Shuzo-sama! Where are you?!" Inoue yells as she starts running in the direction she and Shuzo were orginally headed towards and hopes for the best.

 _Shuzo himself ends up wandering between the multiple buildings on Tōtsuki's campus once he realizes that he was seperated from Inoue. After an hour of wandering Shuzo finally ends up in the right building thanks to the directions he got from a middle-school girl and a heavily tanned research assistant he met in one of the reasearch labs he wandered into. At least this time he didn't fall into a pot._

"Man my sense of direction sucks... can't believe I didn't notice Inoue wander off, and she was supposed to be the one to show me around the school." Shuzo thought as he's preoccupied with walking down the hall of the fanciest building he's seen thus far.

 _Though Shuzo was a little out of breath from all the walking he did in just under an hour, but perhaps due to his well-off origin he couldn't help but take in the aesthetic design of the hall._

"Wow... this building alone looks like it's worth way more than my own house, but then again... outside of the containers for our products... he's cared very little for flashy appearences." Shuzo mumbles.

"Shuzo-sama, I've been looking all over for you!" a certain 14 yearold girl yells.

 _The young master happens to stop infront of the largest door in this particular hallway before turning his head over his shoulder, and then finds a certain "Cannonball on fire" running towards him at full blast once more._

"Oh not again." Shuzo mumbled as he quickly ducked his head at the last possible second.

 _It was perfectly timed too as Inoue kicked herself off of the ground narrowly avoiding the top of Shuzo's head only to land on her stomach on the other side._

"Where have you been Shuzo-sama?! I've been looking for you since you wandered off!" Inoue yells as right now the expression on her face was akin to a little girl who just found their lost puppy.

"Wandering off? I've spend the past our trying to find you after you wandered off?" Shzuo retorts.

"No you were the one who wandered off! If it wasn't for Professor Shiomi's research assistant telling me where you went... I never would have found you." Inoue counters.

"So that's the name of the proffessor in charge of that research lab." Shuzo thought but he quickly dismissed it seeing as how he had more important things to worry about right now, "We could keep going back and forth about this all day, but at least I was able to arrive at the room where my transfer exam."

"But Shuzo-sama, you're actua-" Inoue was trying to say.

"No 'buts'. I just want to get this over with and go home." Shuzo said interupting Inoue as he turned towards the large doors in order to open it.

 _But Shuzo was only able to make three steps before one of these large doors flew open revealing a crowd of terrified people potential applicants on the other side. Why I'd say that all of these applicants look like they're all trying to run away from the apocalypse itself._

"Mommy..." Shuzo whispers as he realizes right now he's effectively a lone man standing in front of a herd of charging terrified bulls.

* * *

 _Shuzo's scream of terror was drowned out and then the man himself was knocked to the side by the charging heard of potential applicans. Inoue having been standing outside the door's range was able to avoid all the chaos, however that certainly didn't do anything to ease her concern for the young master's well-being. In less than a minute the last of the crowd of terrified teenagers were no where to be seen... in fact the last one out was the very same haughty sweatervest wearing teen that Inoue saw from earlier._

"Holy... crap... somehow I'm still alive." Shuzo gasps as he starts to struggle with forcing himself to breath normally after that experience.

"Are you alright Shuzo-sama?" Inoue says in a frantic concerned tone as she runs to the young master's side in order to help him get back on his feet.

"Yeah I'm fine." Shuzo answers as he was able to get up on his own, and was already dusting himself off, "Even though that mass of people knocked me to the ground... I wasn't trampled on. Talk about a miracle."

"Maybe you should take this as a good fortune towards your chances of passing." Inoue-suggests.

"Hmm... Inoue would you happen to have a comb or a brush on you that I could borrow? I seem to have forgotten to bring one.

 _Inoue silently responds by pulling out a comb perfectly suited to the grain of Shuzo's hair. Perhaps it's a little creepy or maybe it's simply a sign of how well the two know each other._

"Thank you, and could you please stay outside? I'd feel better taking it if I didn't have to worry about you worrying over me?" Shuzo asks of his unofficil aid.

"As you wish Shuzo-sama, but I'm here if you need me." Inoue answers.

 _Now that Shuzo has straighted himself up as best he could under these circumstances... he walks bravely forward to meet start or the untimely end of his ideal future._

"I figured that they'd all be hopeless incompetents. My time would have been wasted on dealing with such fools." Erina declared in a huaghty arrogant tone with her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

 _Erina the girl with long blond hair turns to face who apppears to be her very own Inoue (as in an assistant not personality) in the form of a girl with faded purple hair that reaches only an inch or two above shoulder length._

"I believe that cleared my schedule for the rest of the day?" Erina asks of her purple haired assistant in one part order and another part confirmation.

"One moment." the purple haired assistant replied as she glanced down at the clipboard in her hand, "As you said Erina-sama, you have nothing else scheduled for today."

"I guess I'll test out some of my new dishes in my private kitchen." Erina said as she mumbles aloud what he decides to do for the day.

 _All of a sudden a shiver is sent down the purple-haired girl's spine, but it wasn't fear... rather her facial expressions made it seem like... arrousal?_

"What's wrong, Hisako? You look... like you want something." Erina asks as she rests Hisako's chin between her thumb and index finger due to having taken notice of her arroused expression.

"Oh... no well..." Hisako mumbles as she makes a feeble attempt to deny herself her inner desires.

"Would you like the privelage of trying my cooking?" Erina saiys in an authoritative tone to her already impressionable assistant.

"I have to stop watching so much anime late at night. I swear I saw bishie sparks and roses surround those two." Shuzo mumbles after he vigorously rubbs his eyes for a moment or two.

"Hey, so are there no other restrictions on this dish asides from using eggs?" said a brave young teen with the courage to interupt this disturbingly romantic moment.

 _Both Erina, Hisako and Shuzo all turned in the direction of the interloper and found that it was the same red haired teen that got into it with the haughy sweatervest wearing applicant... not that any of them recognize him of course due to not having been there._

"I was about to say the same thing." Shuzo says to the red haired teen whilst thinking "Otherwise things may have gotten way too steamy in there between those two."

"What? I have not one challenger, but two? One looks like he came from the country and the other looks like he was just ran over by a herd of marauding bulls." Erina thought as she was greatly surprised that two people had the gall to stand up to her.

"Why is she looking at me like that?" Shuzo thought reffering to Erina's gaze whilst failing to realize that his earlier efforts to quickly straighten himself up wasn't as effective as he thought.

"As long as the two of you use eggs, you can pick any cuisine genre you wish. But are you sure you want to do this? With me as the proctor you're better off with..." Erina answers in her normal tone of voice.

 _Suddenly the red haired teen places his right hand on Erina's shoulder as if they were best friends._

"If that guy knows who he's touching... he has balls of steel, but if he doesn't then he's an idiot among idots." Shuzo thought hiding his reaction well as he was surprised by the red haired teen's interactive audacity.'

"Oh, I was really worried! I thought you might fail me before I even got to cook." the red haired teen said as he was pracitcally yelping a sigh of relief.

"Back away!" Hisako yelled as she forces her way between Erina and the red haired teen like the latter of the two just dunked his hand in extremly expensive wet paint, "Do you even know who she is?!"

"Who is she?" the red haired teen retorts having apparently no idea of hat he's just done.

"The top of her class in the junior high division, the youngest member ever accepted into Tōtsuki's Elite Ten Council, and potential heriess to the Nakiri household: Nakiri Erina." Shuzo interjects as he decides to beat Hisako to the punch.

"Well... at least one of you knows your place." Erina says to Shuzo as she appears to be ever so slightly impressed by him.

"I first heard about you through my older brother, but I don't think there's any heavy hitter in the food industry who hasn't heard of you." Shuzo retorts, but in actuality he didn't really care who Erina was as his only goal was graduating from Tōtsuki whether it be as the top or the bottom of his class.

"Wow... this is a really amazing knife." the red haired teen said on the surface seeming completely unitersted in Erina past her actual identity.

"Don't just wander around!" Hisako and Erina yell one they realize that the read haired teen had wandered off.

"Nope... this guy is definetly an idiot." Shuzo thought as he couldn't help but burry his face in his hand in response to the red haired teen's greater level of audacity.

"Huh?" the red haired teen says out of confusion as he fails to realize what he's done.

"Are you really going to take my exam?" Erina asks as it's clear her patience with this red haired teen is wearing thin.

"I'm still here you know." Shuzo interjects.

"I haven't forgotten about you, so be quiet." Erina retorts as he glances in Shuzo's direction for a second.

"As you wish." Shuzo replies seeing as how he knows better than to piss off this proctor in particular.

"Well I can't speak for that guy." the red haired teen points out as he tilts his head towards Shuzo, "But all we have to do is make you say that whatever we make tastes good, right? Of course I'll take your exam."

"This guy... is really starting to get on my nerves." Erina thought as she resists her desire to snap at this red haired teen for disrespecting her so even if he doesn't realize he's done it.

"Erina-sama, I've found the transfer applications for these two." Hisako whispers as she passes Erina two pieces of paper.

"Let's see... the first one is Yukihira Soma." Erina mumbles.

"So that's this guy's name? Well if nothing else this Soma guy will make things interesting." Shuzo thought as he happens to overhear Erina's mumbling.

"His family runs a diner. Does this second rate cook honestly think he can impress the palette refined by my noble pedigree and years of training?" Erina continues to muble aloud while this Soma seems more interested in examining the ingredients he has to work with.

"What about the other one Erina-sama?" Hisako whispers.

"Ah yes... Shuzo Kubo... his family runs a international operating company who's made source of revenoue is its various gourmet packaged meals. It says here the Kubo family donates to food drives all over the world. So a family of gourmet philatropists then? How cruel to give lowly members of the slums only a single taste of a world they'll only expereince once." Erina whispers.

 _Much like how Soma had a flash of anger when that sweatervest wearing applicant insulted his family resturuant, Shuzo has a flash of anger though far more intense but given the fact that his future is on the line it takes all of his wellpower to keep said anger from being._

"So she thinks it's cruel to help feed the less fortunate? She has no idea what it's like living in the pits of financial insecurity!" Shuzo thought as he squeezes his arms in order to stop himself from making a scene.

"Oh dear Shuzo-sama... please keep your emotions in check." Inoue mumbled as she's the only one able to feel Shuzo's suppressed rage due to how long they've known each other.

"If that's your attitude... I'll taste your food... the food of the world's bottom feeders." Erina tells Soma in a coy tone before turning to face Shuzo, "And your food... the food of those who stand in the gourmet world."

"Alright... with a little competition... that'll make things a lot more interesting." Soma declares as he takes the roll of cloth attached to his arm and ties it around his forehead.

"Sorry Soma or whatever your name is, but... I'll make this person take back what she said about my family. If I have to destroy you in the process than so be it." Shuzo thought as he takes out the knife Owari gave him.

"More interesting... you say Soma-kun. Very well... then let's make it that way. Of the two of you, the one who's dish impresses me more shall be allowed admittance into this academy, and the looser goes home with nothing." Erina suggests.

"I'm okay with that." both Soma and Shuzo by fluke say at the same time.

"Very well... Examiner Nakiri, I'll show you our specialty!" Soma declares.

 _Having been already essentially wearing his work clothes under his uniform, Soma was able to immeaditley start the prepwork towards whatever dish he had in mind. Shuzo however for obvious safety reasons first removed his shirt and tie and placed it carefully on a nearby chair before he got work. Don't worry he's wearing a blue t-shirt underneath. Within a matter of moments the sound of things being chopped and liquid being boiled reverberated throughout this gourmet kitchen. The impomptu cooking duel or Shokugeki as they'd later learn about between Shuzo and Soma had at last begun._

"Eggs are a fundemental ingredient in a variety of cullinary generes. What could they serve to Erina-sama, who tastes the best egg cuisine on a daily basis?" Hisako says aloud effectivley playing the role of an inpromptu commentator.

 _Soma if focued on quickly chopping some spring onions while Shuzo is carefully coating 10 uncooked quail eggs in ten different mixtures of spices and powders._

"So it'll be a challenge between the values of complexity and simplicity in their own dishes? If nothing else this will keep me entertained. It's not like some B-ranked chef will be able to outdue someone with gouremet training." Erina thought as she had a smile on her face though it was only for show.

 _Then Soma moves onto taste testing whatever liquid he has cooking inside the large pot he brought out earlier._

"Almost ready." Soma mumbles

"Now for the eggs." Shuzo thought after he wraps the 10 quail eggs in 10 differnt pieces of a brand of thermal plastic meant for cooking and drops it into a small boiling pot he has next to a larger boiling pot filled with a concoction of his own design.

 _Now both Soma and Shuzo move onto beating the serveal eggs they've cracked into their own bowls._

"They'll both be using beaten eggs while Shuzo will be using the addition of quail eggs, but I'm still not sure what dish either of them are working towards." Erina thought as she can't help but find herself engrossed in the competition.

 _Once Shuzo had beaten the eggs in his bowl to his satisfaction_... _he then poors the contents of said bowl into the larger of the two pots he has has boiling._

"He's pouring the eggs into the pot he has boilil... I get it now... that's what he's trying to make!" Erina thought as he has a sudden look of realization about Shuzo's intended dish.

 _But because she still can't seem to get a grasp on what Soma is trying to make, Erina decides to move closer to his work station._

"Yukihira Soma-kun, just what are you trying to make?" Erina inquired.

"Huh?" Soma replies as he starts to look at Erina as if she was a bit of a fool before at last saying, "You still can't tell at this stage?" with a mocking tone permiating throughout his voice.

"Do you want me to fail you right now?! I don't have time to waste on poorly conceived dishes." Erina yells as she feels both annoyed and embarassed by Soma's remark.

"Fine, I'll tell you." Soma says as his sly look changes into that of a cheerfull smile "What I'm making is the eighth item on my family diner's secret menu."

"Secret menu? What mannter of covuluted dish could it be?" Erina asks as he her blatant curioisity was well hidden amongst her stern words.

"Rice with seasoning!" Soma announces as if this simple dish was some kind of great hidden treasure.

"Wha?" was the collective thoughts of Erina, Hisako and Shuzo.

 _In fact when Shuzo heard that he almost dropped his knife on his foot out of surprise... talk about close calls._

"Cut the crap! I knew from the beginning that you were some low-end cook. Shuzo-kun was it? Since this peron clearly isn't taking this seriously... your dish had better impress me." Erina declares as she instantly looses all interest in Soma.

"Don't worry it's almost done." Shuzo replies while secertly thinking "And I'll make you eat your own words when you taste it."

"Of course, it's not any ordinary seasoning. Otherwise it wouldn't be on Yukihira's secret menu." Soma reveals and in the process regains Erina's curiosity, "What I'm making... is rice with transforming seasoning!"

"Transfomring seasoning?" Erina retorts.

"Yeah... don't worry it's almost ready, and believe me it'll be worth the wait." Soma answers as he appears to be preparing the finishing touches on his rice with performing seasoning.

 _Soma is the first to finish his dish, and much to a combination of surprise and disgust of the others present... his dish appears to be no more than beaten eggs in a bowl._

"No... there's no hidden seceret... this guy is definetly messing with me!"Erina thought as she's just a hair's trigger short of snapping now.

"Thank you for waiting!" Soma yells with his left hand excitedly outstretched towards his dish as if he had just presented it ontop of a pedestal.

"It really is ordinary." Hisako thought as she examines oma's dish from close up in an attempt to determine what the 'transforming sesoning' part of it was.

"Just you wait... I'm about to show you this dish's true form." Soma declared as he places the dish in the palm of his hand.

"What do you mean?" Erina sks as somehow by some mircale Soma is able to pique her curiosity again.

"True form is it?" Shuzo thought as he moves from his work station to get a better view of Soma's dish.

 _Hisako is the last to catch it but both she, Shuzo, and Erina see something glistening between the beaten eggs._

"Keep your eyes peeled. The true value of a rice seasoning can only be seen over rice itself." Soma points out as he places a bowl of piping hot rice on the kitchen counter top.

 _Shuzo goes back to putting the finishing touches on his dish, but from Erina's perspective... it was as if time began to slow down for her as Soma poured the beaten eggs and what appears to be come sort of glistening cubes from on high._

"Those gelled cubes... the rice is heat is melting them. Aspic then..." Shuzo thought as he glances at Soma's dish whenever he gets the chance too.

 _Once the fragrance of Soma's dish passes through Erina's nose her whole body starts to tremble, of which only serves to whet her appetite. She impulsiveness takes one bite of Soma's dish without bothering to assess it, but on the second..._

"This aspic is basically a rich soup infused with the umami of chicken. The melted aspic coats the rice and cover the eggs, of which only further serves to enhance their flavors. This dish is an entirely new world of flavor." Erina thought as she couldn't help but be internally amazed by this simple dish's level of completion.

 _Hisako might not have noticed it and Erina might not have realized it herself, but her body is shaking from the flavor impact. The way she's shaking... it's flavor of Soma's dish is causing a small army of cupids to carry Erina up to the heavens of favor._

"This might be bad... I've heard how the God Tongue Erina doesn't flinch even when she taste tests food she likes, but this Soma guy was able to produce these kinds of reactions with such a plebeian dish. There's no time to adjust the recipe at this point. I'll have to make due with what I have." Shuzo thought as he fills a bowl with his completed dish.

"So, how is it? Aren't you glad you didn't leave without tasting it first?" Soma asks as he leans his face closer to Erina's with that ever clear smug expression of his upon it.

"Silence! I'll make my judgment after I try Shuzo's dish." Erina declares as she turns to face Soma's opponent in this impromptu duel.

"Yeah it is. You should know that I made this dish not only with egg as the focal point, but with the theme of representing the very nature of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy." Shuzo declared as he placed a bowl of his own in front of Erina.

 _The bowl rested on top of a small plate in order to make it easy for Shuzo to carry, and under another small plate in order to keep the bowl's contents nice and hot. There carefully nestled next to the bowl is a soup spoon._

"I have no doubt that this will be vastly superior to what Yukihira Soma made, but... I had better get this over with." Erina thought as the flavor of Soma's dish was still able to influence her even now.

"Feel free to take off the covering lid at your own discretion." Shuzo said as he offers a respectful vow to the honorable judge.

"Come on and take it off, I wanna see what this guy made too." Soma declared as he moved as close as he could to where Shuzo placed his dish on this kitchen counter tap.

"Shut up! Do you want me to just disqualify you on the spot?!" Erina yells as she seems to be just short of strangling Soma with her own two hands.

 _Once Erina removed the plate that covered the bowl... a burst of steam escaped from it into the real world, and along with it... the dish's fragrance._

"What's with this wild fragrance?" Soma says aloud as the smell of Shuzo's cooking fills the nose of everyone in the room.

 _Imagine yourself looking at Shuzo's dish down from above like how a camera man recording the city below from a helicopter. Imagine yourself looking at Shuzo's bowl and seeing it filled with a brown colored soup, beaten eggs stretched throughout the dish like silly string, a pile of carefully cut strings of cabbage or some other leafy vegetable placed on the bowl like a cherry on top of a sundae, and finally imagine the ten quail eggs that carefully coated from earlier floating at the top of the bowl._

"I don't have a name yet, but I guess you can call it Wild Drop Soup for now until I come up with something better." Shuzo explained.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Erina: I don't even get to taste it yet?

Shuzo: Don't worry it'll still be hot the next time you get the chance.

Soma: Next time on Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués, "The Other Tomato".

Shuzo: What... you're in this class too?!


	4. The Other Tomato

**Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués**

 **Chapter 4**

 **The Other Tomato**

* * *

 _After narrowly avoiding severe injury via a human stampede, Shuzo realizes that the proctor for his transfer exam is none other than Erina Nakiri 10th seat of Tōtsuki academy's Elite 10 and perhaps the most "thorugh" food critiq among them. To make things even more probolomatic, Shuzo has been locked into a challenge with a red-haired diner brat named Soma. He will have to make a dish that both meets the standards of his proctor and surpasses the dish of his competition in order to get into the academy, but it wasn't going to be that simple. Somehow despite his humble background... this Soma was able to make a dish that impressed Erina even if she herself wouldn't admit it. Can Shuzo's own creation... this Wild Drop Soup pave the way for his dream?_

"What's with this wild fragrence?" Soma says aloud as the smell of this Wild Drop Soup spreads throughout his nostrils, but shortly thereafter his thoughts were filled with, "It lookes like an ordinary egg drop soup to me save for the quail eggs. How did he do it?"

 _As laid back as this Soma charcter may seem, when it comes to matters of competition he watches his opponents like a hawk... looking for all their Shuzo's strengths as the case may be... and a wait to add Shuzo's strengths to his own._

"For once I'll have to agree with that person." Erina thought clearly reffering to Soma as her hand reached for the soup spoon, "The fragrence has no element of consistency to it, but I know better than to judge a dish by that alone. Still I am curious to see how this dish represents the nature of Tōtsuki."

"Erina-sama, I just realized where I've heard of Shuzo before." Hisako interjects just as Erina was about to dip her spoon into Shuzo's dish.

"And you're just telling me this now?" Erina retorts as she seems quite annoyed that someone disturbed the commencement of her meal... loyal aid or no.

"My apologies Erina-sama." Hisako says in a guilty tone just as she's realized what she's done, "He's the one who well into the vat of tomato sauce the WBFRRS was using to break the record for world's biggest lasanga!"

"You're that Shuzo Kubo... in that case would your older brother be Yuichi Kubo?" Erina asks with a surprised expression on her face due to having some kind of epiphany regarding Shuzo's identity.

"Really... that incident is this well known." Shuzo thought as he couldnt help but once again burry his face in his hand out of sheer embarassment.

 _Erina and Hisako given their upbringing knew better than to how should we say... comment on one's public displays of misfortune, but a certain chef of more humble backgrounds had no such self-control._

"Bwaha ha ha ha ha! What did you get sprayed by a giant skunk or something?" Soma asks as he busts out laughing with such verocity that he nearly falls over on his own two feet.

"Shut up! There was a ludicrous amount of fog, I didn't even notice I was walking into a warehouse, and there wasn't even a safety rail." Shuzo snaps at Soma as apparently his bout of public humiliation is a rather sore subject for him.

 _As soon as Shuzo realizes how loud he's been he quickly forces himself to regain his composure. It wouldn't do his chances of getting into the academy any good by acting like a heathen._

"Sorry... sorry... that was just too funny." Soma retorts as he struggles to force himself to stop laughing.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Shuzo says to Erina before taking a few moments to catch his breath, "Still to answer your question... yes my older brother is Yuichi Kubo."

"This makes things a little more interesting... now I'm curious how to see how the younger brother measures up to the unofficial 11th member of the Elite 10." Erina thought as a sly yet coy expression appear on her face.

"Getting back on topic... please enjoy your meal." Shuzo declares as he offers a respectful bow to the one person who effectivley has him by the throat.

"Don't mind if I do." Erina said seeming happy that she'd be able to resume her taste-testing duties, and through that be hopefully rid of Soma through enough.

* * *

 _Erina's "God Tounge" as well as her imagination takes her to another world the moment she consumes a spoonfull of Shuzo's gourmet concotion. That word is a hotly contested battlefield between three factions of anthropmorphic chicken, bottles of teryaki sauce, and roast beef mashed together in human form. They're all fighting with one another using weapoms made of cabbage, bullets made of honey, bodies littering the field, and now Erina is an innocent civillian caught in the middle._

"I have to get out of here!" Erina frantically yells as she just picks a direction and starts running as fast as her little feet can take her.

"Enemy spy! Someone get after her!" an anthopomorphic bottle of teryaki sauce yells as it takes a few potshots at Erina.

 _At first Erina is only running from a squad of teryaki sauce bottles with arms and legs, but the noise that in itself makes soon gets the attention of the anthropomorphic roast beef and chicken soldiers all of whom are shooting at each other in the process._

"Why are they chasing me?" Erina thought as she feels the last of her strength leave her body as she's chased by this food army.

 _And at the momet the last of her strength is finally gone, Erina falls over... her unscarred (and still dressed) back colliding with a large rock that happens to be resting upon this literall food batlefield... her face stricken with fear realizing that death may be iminent._

"Say your prayers!" one of the anthropomoroohic food soldiers yell.

 _Perhaps it was directed towards Erina or perhaps it was directed towards the soldiers of the two other food army factions, but before all of their bullets made of honey could be fired... bullets made of honey were fired into all off them from a distance behind Erina._

"For freedom! For the egg-public!" someone yelled from behind Erina.

 _Shadows fly past Erina forcing the food soldiers that were after her to run back to their allies._

"What's going on?" Erina thought once she realized that this fourth faction wasn't remotley interested in her.

 _Once Erina realized that she was safe, she looks up and into the battlefield beyond. From there she witnesses a fourth food army beat the other three into submission._

"Are you alright?" someone to the immediate right of Erina asks her.

 _The young member of the Elite 10 looks to the right in order to gaze upon her rescuer, and there she finds a food soldier different than the roast beef, chicken, or teryaki sauce army holding out its arm to her. She saw an egg with arms and legs sticking out like a Mr. Potatohead. Erina grabs the hand of the anthropomorphic egg, and soon enough... she finds herself brought back to reality of being a transfer proctor in a major private school._

"At first glance this dish seems like it has no element of consistecy, but a 'chaotic' flavor was your intent wasn't it?" Erina asks as she calmly puts her spoon down, "I'm not saying for or against whether or not your wild drop soup met my standards, but it is impressive that you managed to recreate the flavor of roast beef despite the influence of chicken wings."

"I made the base from a combination as you said chicken wings, a Tōtsuki brand approved teryaki sauce, soy sauce, and brown surgar... but I didn't immitate the flavor of roast beef. I actually used some cooked roast beef I found on the ingredient cart. I wish I could give my compliments to the chef since it happened to be perfectly made to suit this dish." Shuzo explains as he seems caught a little off guard by Erina's observation.

"Imposible... I inspected the cart myself. If such a piece of cooked meat was there I would have noticed." Hisako says aloud as she seems to take this as an affront to her ability as an aid.

"I looked there too, and didn't see it... must have grabbed it before I looked there." Soma thought.

"Well it is there... bottom section of the middle of the line of carts." Shuzo retorts as he doesn't seem to see what the big deal is.

 _Hisako having been clearly caught off guard by this turns around and makes a step towards the ingredient carts in order to inspect them, but her liege or charge (depending on how you'd like to call it) Erina stops her._

"There's no point in worrying about it now Hisako. What matters is whehter or not his dish is better than that person's." Erina points out nodding her head at first in Shuzo's direction and then Soma's.

"Yes Erina-sama." Hisako retorts as she forces herself to regain her composure.

"In regards to the garnish... you carefully cut the cabbage into thin noodle like strings, coated them with a marinade-like substance made from a combination of honey and powderized ginger with increasing concentration from one end to another, lightly sauted it, and then added it to the soup. The egg itself... only a dash of salt was added to it." Erina points out, "Now how does this dish represent the nature of Tōtsuki?"

"The broth represents the students themselves, the cabbage represents their skill sets, the eggs are Tōtsuki's rigirous training regiments." Shuzo answers taking a deep breath in the process as he apparently has more t o say, "The clashing flavors is like the sheer compeition expected Tōtsuki, the steadily stronger flavor in the cabbage represents their skills sharpening, but without the eggs it would be an indastinguishable mess."

"I see... taking what he said into account... because the egg acts as a buffer between the garnish and the base due it it's plain flavor... I instictivley focus on the taste of the egg like how a student should on their lessons, which makes the increasing flavor concentration of the cabbage strings more apparent, which makes the clash of flavors in the soup stronger, and in turn increases the focus on the egg element... creating a loop... a loop that wouldn't be possible without the eggs themselves. That's a perfect facimilie for Tōtsuki's circle of life. This dish perfectly represents the nature of this school." Erina thought having a bit of a long eternal monolouge with herself.

"You're forgot to try the part of the dish that represents it's full potential." Shuzo sfaid pointing down into the center of the bowl drawing in the eyes of those around him, "The 10 quail eggs."

 _Though Shuzo said quail eggs, the 10 little droplets in the bowl no longer had the traditional smooth oval shape one might expect, but rather these boiled eggs dropped in soup had rough craters upon them the same way the moon would be were it oval shaped._

"I apologize for the way the quail eggs look. Normally I would take a food carving knife and shape the boiled egg back into a perfect oval, but in the interest of time I chose to skip that step. Rest assured, the shape will have no influence on the taste." Shuzo explains.

"I'll let it go this time, but should you manage to get past me and into the academy I trust you won't forget such a step again." Erina retorts as she for the first time seems annoyed with Shuzo for not taking this aesthetic step.

"This isn't good... my dish isn't getting the same kind of reaction as Soma's." Shuzo thought.

 _The level of annoyance Erina felt paled in comparison to what she felt hearing Soma's voice, but once she savored the flavor of the quail egg she decided to consume her eyes twitch slightly. It wasn'te because she thought Shuzo's dish to have a great impact because of this element, but rather it was because she did not expect the nature of the quail egg's impact._

"Star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan pepper, cinnamon, and cloves... a standard five-spice power combination used in chinese cuisine... I see.. so that's why there were 10 eggs." Erina mumbles as she realizes the hidden meaning of the second kind of eggs.

"It's exactly as you expect... using a brand of flavorless butter as an adhesive I coated the eggs in 10 different spice mixes as you all saw. Those mixes consisted of the combination of spices most used by each member of the current elite 10. That egg in particular was coated with a mix that represents the current 8th seat." Shuzo calmly explains though he was clearly proud of his dish like a father would be for their child.

"Then for the egg that represnts my seat... you used spices with are regal history, but i saw you drop the eggs into the boiling water right after coating them and not look at them again. How did you manage to cover it in the egg. whites?" Erina asks as she easily figured out the secret behind the egg's flavor, but not its presentation.

"Normally when one boils an egg the white and the yolk cook in its entirety, but the brand of thermal plastic I used creates the effect of something akin to a waffle iron in that it cooks the egg from the outer in, so-" Shuzo start to explain.

"I see where your going now. You cooked the outmost part of the egg white long enough where you could hold it in your hand after removing the shell. From their you coated it and poked it with a toothpic or something similar at various points and depths all over each egg, so that the heat from the boiling water would force the uncooked eggwhite out to form a cacoon around the spice mixtures." Erina interupts.

"To do something like that requires both delicate hands, and the ability instantly discern a food item's internal spacial awarenesss from touch alone." Hisako thought as she seems impresed with the skill Shuzo has shown thus far.

"It's clear from that one egg alone that each spice mix has been perfectly balenced to work with the dish as a whole and create a 4th step in Tōtsuki's educational loop... the importance of the Elite 10." Erina thought.

"Please give Erina-sama a few moments to contemplate the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the dishes you had presented." Hisako calmly says to both Soma and Shuzo as she can see her liege is already lost in thought.

"Given the nature of my family, I make sure to stay decently knowlegable about the affairs of the food world despite my personal interests." Shuzo explains.

"Hmm... Shuzo's dish showed the level of completion, the intracate yet complex flavors, and technical skills expected of a gourmet chef. What's more important is that he showed the skills expected of a Tōtsuki student." Erina thought, and yet soon enough her mind was caught in an internal struggle.

 _What Erina felt was anger directed towards herself, for being able to put her heart behind the decision her head wants to make._

"Yet somehow despite all the intracacy and complexity... that person's dish... even though he only used a combination of ingredients expected of B-rate chefs... is... Yukihira-kun's plebian dish is significnatly superior to Shuzo's gourmet craftsmenship. That... that shouldn't be possible!" Erina thought as she could not accept the fact that a street-rat by her standards could make something superior to a food scion.

"Sure we're a small diner, and I bet you guys are the elites of he food world. Still... you know, I bet there are some things you can't make if you get too comfortable looking at people from above. Well, what is it? Yukihira-style rice with seasoning... Is it delcious or disgusting? Tell me!" Soma declares as he points his finger at Erina from across the kitchen countertop with the belief that there's no way he could lose to Shuzo.

 _No... that's not accurate... it's not because of an unwavering belief in superioirty that Soma's being so bold, but rather regardless of victory or defeat it's his willingness to face both paths head on that gives him such strength._

"It's... disgusting!" Erina yells not out of anger or annoyance, but embarassment like a school-girl with a crush.

 _Not that Erina actually has a crush on Soma of course. I mean why would a high-class lady such as herself fall for a man of humble origins? All jokes aside... Soma is... well you'll see._

"Whaaaaat!?" Soma retorts as he was shocked to a level he's probably never felt before by the two words that came out of Erina's mouth.

 _The shock of Erina's words having reduced his mind to it's most minimal functionality, Soma steadily staggers out of test kitchen mumbling things like "Is it really that bad?" or "How will I surpass my father now?" It's actually a little sad given how much confidence and spunk he showed._

"Hisako." Erina says aloud as if expecting her aid to know what she wants from the way she pronounced her name alone.

"Yes... here you are Erina-sama." Hisako says as she passes Erina a glass of water having actually deduced what she wanted from the way she pronounced her name alone.

"Thank you." Erina says as she takes the glass from her aid's hand.

 _And then after taking a sip she turns to face Shuzo, of whom is standing in front of the kitchen sink with the water running and soap bubbles everywhere._

"You don't have to that." Erina points out.

"I'm the one who used the kitchen, so I should be the one to clean it. What kind of chef wouldn't take care of their own mess?" Shuzo retorts looking over his shoulder as he washes the equipment Soma used as well.

 _That's an especially ironic statement seeing as how Shuzo's dream isn't to become a chef at all._

"No you're right, but could you please direclty face me when you speak? I find that unless it can't be helped... not doing so is rude." Erina interjects.

"My apologies." Shuzo said turning around to face Erina as he wipes his hand dry with a nearby hand towel.

"Congradulations for passing Tōtsuki Culinary Academy's transfer exam. It's known to be more difficult than even some of the school's most ardous assignments. The last person as you know to pass it was your older brother Yuichi." Erina says as she offers a handhsake to Shuzo.

"Thank you." Shuzo said as he decides to return the handshake.

 _Shuzo still harbored dark thoughts in regards to what Erina said about his family, but he holds his tounge as he realizes Erina's attitude can change at the drop of a hat._

"I'm sure it'll do wonders for your relationship with your fellow first years once they find out I was the one who approved your entry in the academy. I could use someone like you on my side." Erina points out.

"Once again I'm honored." Shuzo said as he deicdes to offer a respectful bow to his transfer proctor, "But first I'd like to get my bearings at Tōtsuki before I do anything else."

"A perfectly reasonable response... good day to you sir." Erina said as she starts turning towards the door, "Let's go Hisako."

"I'm coming Erina-sama!" says the Elite 10 member's loyal aid.

 _Now that Shuzo is all alone in this room he takes the time to put his formal shirt on as well as his tie before heading out the door himself, but on the otherside of the door he came in he finds Inoue talking to someone on the phone._

"Thank you for planting the roast beef, and the other ingredients I asked even though they didn't turn out to be nessecary... I've already placed what I know about that student as payment at the usual dead-drop. Yeah... I'll do anything to ensure Shuzo-sama succeeds." Inoue whispers into her phone.

"Who are you talking to?" Shuzo asks as he places his hand on Inoue's shoulder apparenlty having not heard of a word of her conversation.

"Just repaying a favor to a friend." Inoue says frantically all the while quickly switching over to her energetic persona, "Anyways Shuzo-sama, I always knew you were amazing... but to convince the God Tounge Erina you were worthy of admission only makes it more so."

"If you heard that I take it you heard what she said about my family?" Shuzo inquired.

"Yeah... I know you have a lot of pride in your family name just like Erina-sama does, so I think it's also amazing that you could keep your calm. I already called the driver and sent a message to your father. We should go and celebrate the occasion!" Inoue says in her usual energetic demeanor.

"Yeah..." Shuzo mumbles.

"Still... if you didn't like what Erina-sama said... why'd you essentially agree to throw your lot in with her faction?" Inoue asks.

"My goal is to survive Tōtsuki for the next 3 years not be the king of the hill. I just felt my best chance of doing that was to at least for now ally myself with one of Tōtsuki's rising stars." Shuzo explains, "Besides... if you're going to get payback it's best to know everything you can about your target.

 _As Shuzo and Inoue started to walk back towards the school's main entrance, the former grew steadily less interested in coversing with the latter. Shuzo's mind was filled with thoughs about Soma's dish and how it was clearly able to produce a far stronger raction with Erina than his did. Within seconds... that thought became all he could think about._

"Sorry Inoue..." Shuzo says rather suddenly as he stops in the middle of the hallway.

"What is it Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks as she's concenred about the cause of this sudden change in behavior.

"I forgot something back in the test kitchen... I'll be back in a few minutes." Shuzo explains.

 _But because of how many years Inoue has known Shuzo... she could easily tell that was just a hastily put together excuse. Still... she puts on a smile, let's him go without a word, and acts as if nothing is wrong._

"God, please don't have someone clean up that room if they haven't already." Shuzo thought as he internally sends a prayer to the all-powerful guy upstairs.

 _At first Shuzo's pace changes from simple power walking to a slight sprint all the while passing an elderly man with long spiky white hair wearing a yukata without even realzing it. Just a moment after passing this elderly man Shuzo walks back into the kitchen he just used with the lights off, but he still finds what he's looking for regardless._

"His dish is still here afterall." Shuzo thought as he felt releaved that Soma's Transforming Furikake Gohan was still exactly where he placed it on the kitchen countertop.

 _At first Shuzo was about to rummage through kitchen drawers for a pair of chop sticks, but quickly dismisses the idea once he realizes there was a pair of chopsticks (likely the ones Erina used) still next to the bowl._

"I have to know..." Shuzo whispers as he takes a piece of the still warm Furikake Gohan with the chopsticks and places it on his tounge.

"Is everyhing alright Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks as she's apparently decided to follow Shuzo afterall.

 _At first Shuzo doesn't respond to Inoue's question, but after a few seconds he starts busting out laughing with an intensity to rival Soma's response when he learned of his little tomato incident._

"Ha ha ha ha ha... the difference is so horrible." Shuzo said alout as he starts to regain his composure, "Hmm when did you get here Inoue?"

"Why did you even try it Shuzo-sama? Erina-sama herself that it was disgusting." Inoue asks as she quickly realizes why Shuzo was laughing.

"That person was wrong Inoue... or at the very least has a vastly different sense of taste compared to others. This simple dish is way better than what I made... such that the difference is horribly hilarious." Shuzo says to Inoue as he explains the reason for his outburst.

"Then why did she say it was disgusting?" Inoue asks.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you, but it makes me wonder why she was selected as a member of the Elite 10 if she can't admit something like this? To insult my family, to deny me the defeat I deserve, and victory that Soma should have recieved... it's like a triple entende style slap to my face... it's almost as humiliating as the tomato sauce incident." Shuzo explained as he had the look of someone who craved blood written on his face.

"Wha... what should we do next?" Inoue asks with concern as she's never seen Shuzo react like.

"Someone who let's pride get in their way like that doesn't deserve to be apart of the Elite 10..." Shuzo sighs, "Let's go Inoue... I have alot to do if want to take the seat right out from under her."

* * *

 _The man who was at first only interested in surving the three years of hell at Tōtsuki Academy now has the goal to start climing close to the top. From here on both Shuzo and al of those graduating junior high students sharpen their knives as well as their pencils, rest their bodies, and for some ready moving boxes as they await their first day as a student of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy's high school student. That day arrives for all of them in wha feeels like a matter of seconds, and when that day comes all of the freshly forged first year students._

"We will next present the new students with their class badge. Incoming valedictorian, Nakiri Erina." a buisnesswoman with light green hair said as she stood at a podium in front of all these hopeful chef stars.

"Here!" the proud young food noble answers.

 _Erina walks up to the podium with the confidence and grace expected of someone in her postion, and as the small batallion worth of students look upon her from below... it's easy to see that there are some interesting characters among them. Fore example: a pair of italian brothers, a girl for some reasom with binoculars, a young man with cinnamon sticking out of his mouth like a toothpick, another young man clearly from Southern Africa, and another bishojou who seems intently focused on something hidden backstage._

"We now welcome our keynote speaker: the director of our Tōtsuki Academy... Nakiri Senzaemon-sama." that buisnesswoman announces.

 _Those among the freshmen still not taking the opening ceremony seriously quivered in fear upon the announcement of that name. The man attached to it had long spikey white hair with a mustache and beard to match, muscles that should be incredibly difficult if not impossible for a man of his age to maintain, an all the while wearing a haori over an olive colored yukata. With a gaze he intimidated all of the freshmen students in less than 5 seconds._

"He's the devil of food... the food demon king!" one random student amongst several hundereds blurts out of fear.

"Greetings. Contradulations to all of you here on your advancement to the highschool division... Durring your three years in the junior highschool division, you have obtained a basic skill set in cooking and deepened your understanding of each igredient. Outside of cooking you all made it through lectures on culinary theory, nutrition, public health, agronomics, and managment. The challenges you'll face from here on are not about your skills or knowlege, but whether or not you have the guts to survive as a food professional." Senzaemon announced pausing for a moment in order to catch his breath, but only so he can continue this long-winded speech of his.

 _Even though he's stern, even thogh he's imposing, and even though some students would say that he's a someone to be afraid of... one by one the director's speech lights a fire under all of the freshmen carvng a look of pride and detemination into all of their faces._

"99 percent of you... are meant to be sacrifices for honing the remaining 1 percent!" Senzaemon announces as he waves his index finger across he crowd only to fill their faces with fear once again.

 _But as I'm sure he... and everyone here realizes... the act of accomplishing one's dream is not for the faint of heart._

"Of the 812 students who entered our high school division last year, only 76 will be with you all ths year! Those who among you who lack ability will be mercisley weeded over the course the year... A thousand first-years will be down to a 100 by their second, among those 100... those who'll graduate can be counted with one hand. In this time... hone yourself!" the director announces.

 _Even greater looks of pride, hope, and determination once again spread amongst the battalion worth of students like a virus. When nomal people would have cowered in fear they choose to brave the wasteland infront of them head on... even if the buddy next to them may not nessicarily be there once they get to the other side._

"That will be all." Senzaemon says in a calm tone of voice as he gracefully walks off the stage.

 _The valedictorain of Tōtsuki's junior high division and gradaughter of the director Nakiri Erina is a filled with a sense of pride of her own as she sits on a simple foldout chair in the backstage of this whole affair._

"The reason Tōtsuki's name has such value is because of the intense competition... only allowing a special few to complete ther education. Should one actually graduate their stardom in the food world is guaranteed so long as they continue pick up a knife, but I pity those born into Tōtsuki's 92 generation... you're only desitied to fight amongst yourself for second place. The top of Tōtsuki Academy, and the Japanese food world, will belong to me!" Erina thought.

 _The the young noblewoman of the food world easily gives off an aura of regal confidence, but all of that aside she isn't the only one sitting in this back stage area._

"I can't do this... I can't do this... I can't do this." Shuzo says as he mumbes the same thing over and over and over again.

 _He's sitting on another chair in the same area as Erina with Inoue at his side, but for some reason his entire body is shaking so vigirously that he couldn't possibly be trusted to hold a pair of cooking twine let alone a kitchen knife._

"It'll be alright Shuzo-sama... you just need to breath and keep calm." Inoue points out as she tries to get the apple of her eye out of her panic attack induced state.

"Shut it Inoue... I didn't know I'd be making a speech for passing the transfer exam... besides... you know stage fright runs in my family." Shuzo retorts as he looks as though he's about to have a seizure in his seat.

"But you have to make a speech Shuzo-sama... getting into Tōtsuki through a transfer exam is a really big deal. Before your bother... it had been 10 years since someone got in that way. Anways... it shows that your something really special amongst the thousand diamonds in a rough." Inoue counters.

"Don't worry... I've even prepared a speech in case you have trouble deciding what to say." Inoue says as she holds up a small folded up piece of paper betwen her fingers.

"Finally, we'd like to introduce the first of the two transfer students who'll be joining your ranks from this day forward." said the buisness woman.

"So... another examiner decided to pass someone? Yukihira... Soma... at least I'll never have to deal with him again. Just the slightest refference to his actions makes my blood boil." Erina thought.

"Oh, sorry to be talking to y'all from up here." that one other lucky transfer student said.

"That voice... it couldn't be..." Shuzo thought as the sound of whoever was speaking at the podium somehow if only temporarily brought him out of his fear-stricken state.

"I'll keep it short and sweet, then... only a couple of sentences." that lucky and now apparently familliar transfer student said.

"Hahhhhhhhh?!" goes both Shuzo and Erina's internal monoluges as they're shocked to a point beyond ordinary speechless once they realize who that other transfer student was.

 _The person standing in front of the podium was none other than Yukihira Soma... the very man that Erina (however much out of her personal prejudice) failed miserably. Both she and Shuzo are trying to wrap their heads around how Soma went from depressingly walking out of the test kitchen to in a manner of speaking being warmly welcomed in front of the student body._

"Uh, I'm Yukihira Soma. To be honest, this academy's just a stepping stone to me! I wasn't expecting to transfer here, but I don't plan on losing to folks who never actually served customers. Anyways... what I'm getting at is... now that I'm here I'm gonna take the number one spot!" Soma confidently announces to his hunderes of fellow classmates.

 _As for his fellow students... they were all gasping for air as their minds struggled to process the sheer audacity of Soma's bold statement. At any rate... then the man himself stepped out from behind the podium in order to fae the angry mob in the making more directly._

"Looking forward to being with y'all for the next three years." Soma says as he offers a bow to his fellow students.

 _The moment the plucky red haired teen starts walking off the stage, his fellow freshman snap at the notion that a diner-brat would dare to think he's better than they scions of gourmet linage and training._

"Phew, I managed not to bite my tounge." Soma mumbles as he breathes a sigh of relief whislt walking backstage.

 _But then he quickly realized that the area backstage he walked into was the very same one where Erina and Shuzo were waiting for this whole affair to be done with._

"Oh... hey! You're the ones from the exam. Uh, Naikiri and Kubo right?" Soma says to Erina and Shuzo as if they were old friends re-uniting after years of being apart.

 _At this moment Erina was focused intently on the reason for Soma's sudden appearence at Tōtsuki while Shuzo ignored him due to his severe stage-fright taking precedence._

"Yukihira-kun! Why are you here?!" Erina yells as her shock finally spurs her to action.

"Huh? Why? Well... wouldn't you come if you recieved an acceptance letter?" Soma retorts as he takes out the very documentation he described.

"How?" Erina thought as she quickly realizes Soma is holding are indeed real.

 _From this point on this led to Erina arguing with Soma about his presence at Tōtsuki, though the latter somehow interpreted the entire thing as a casual conversation._

"Just you wait... I'll take everything I've got and everything I learn here to make you say 'delicious' examiner Nakiri!" Soma declares as he takes Erina's heavy negative criticisms as a blatant letter of challenge.

 _The student body was still filled with thoughts of hatred directed towards Soma were immediatley silenced once the staff announced that it was his turn to speak. The news that someone was able to get into Tōtsuki with a member of the Elite Ten as their proctor spread like wildfire throughout the academy... in a nutshell they were all curious who Shuzo was. Some amongst the crowd of freshmen hoped that he'd be different than Soma in order to ease thier anger, others hoped he was the same so they could further vent it, and the rest didn't care and wanted class to get started already._

"Come on Shuzo-sama... you have to get up there." Inoue says with Shuzo's arm over her shoulder as the man's nerves refuse to allow his legs to function.

"I can't make... a speech... look for somereason I got quiet all of a sudden, so I should go." Shuzo points out as his fear of public speaking prevents him from speaking in any tone louder than a whisper.

"Just go already!" Inoue yells.

 _And as she yelled, Inoue thrust Shuzo forward with either strength you woulnd't expect with her tiny body or with strength expected of her type of character depending on your perspective. At any rate... due to being forced on the stage Shuzo nearly trips overhimself despite the several hundereds._

"Okay... just one step forward at a time, force a few words out of your gullet, and you can forget that you ever had to do this." Shuzo thought.

"Hey... that's him right? The one who managed to impress the God Tongue Erina and into the acadmey ." one of the many students amongst the crowd said.

"Yeah... to impress that Nakiri when her world alone is enough to destroy famours restaurants all over th world... I wonder what kind of person he is." said a friend of that one student.

"Hey... isn't his older brother the guy who's known as the 'Unoffical 11th seat' of the elite 10?" one female student asks a friend standing next to her.

"Yeah... and he look how confidently he's walking to the stage like Erina-sama... he seems to be as handsome and as cool as his brother too." said the friend of that one female student as she squealed like a school girl.

 _As that one student said... somehow despite his extreme state of nervousness, Shuzo appeared as though to be confidently and cooly walking on stage... though I bet if you asked the man himself he probably thought he was a hairtrigger away from being ridiculed._

"Okay... what did Inoue write." Shuzo thought as he opens the piece of paper containig the speech Inoue wrote for him, "The hell I'm saying this!" only to rip it to shreads a seconds later

 _At first it starts out perfctly normal... it held lines one might expect of a student to say in front of his or her fellows on the first day of lessons, but the reason Shuzo rips up the speech was because of the lines Inoue wrote later on. It had things like "My one and only love will be the adorable middle school student Inoue" and "Once I graduate I'll propose to Inoue!" So you see his reaction was perfectly understandable, but then little did Shuzo know... the reason Inoue wanted that reaction out of him was far different than what he expected._

"Good... now that he's angry at me... Shuzo-sama will finally be able to speak normally in front of all of these people." Inoue thought as a simple proud smile appearing on her face.

"Ahem... my name is Kubo Shuzo... like the person who came before me I don't have much to say, but I'll try not to be so blunt." Shuzo said taking a deep breath before continuing, "Still there are two things I have in common with him, and it's that though due to personal circumstances 'I wasn't expecting to transfer here' and 'This academy is just a stepping stone for me."

 _One could argue that Soma was audaciously brave for saying the things he did, but then that same person could also say that Shuzo was incredibly stupid for repeating his words. A pointly only proven by the fact that the wrath of the student body was already shifting towards him._

"What the hell did you say?!" one angry students yelled.

"Just because you managed to impress Erina-sama doesn't mean we're going let this go!" another angry student yells.

 _They'd all learn soon enough that there was a methon behind the madness of Shuzo's words._

"But then isn't Tōtsuki Culinary Academy a stepping stone for everyone of us here?" Shuzo asks the crowd as that question alone seems to stay the crowd's wrath.

"Where is Shuzo-sama going with this?" Inoue thought as even she's unable to predict what might come out of his mouth next.

"I say it is... a stepping stone that'll grow ever smaller over the course of three years, but a nessecay one for the sake of our dreams... whether it be as simple as opening a foodcart in our favorite neighboorhoods or a 5 Star establishment in the greatest cities of the world. If you share a dream with the person next to you whether friend or foe... walk hand in hand with them as we cross this wasteland together, learn their strengths and their weaknesses so that you can all inherit the legacy of their dream should they not make it across with you." Shuzo points out as he too waves his finger across the crowd.

 _Shuzo's speech was far from done, but the words he aready said has the effect of easing the hatred he brought upon himself. The reason behind it was simple... they all realized the truth behind his words._

"I say it again... stand with the buddy next to you, and make each other stronger so that we of Tōtsuki's 92nd generation can show everyone that more than just one percent of us deserves to be stars in the world we desire! Thank you." Shuzo said with an increasing amount of dramatic effect as he increases his speech.

 _Some members of the 92nd generation were'nt going to forgive Shuzo for repeating what Soma had said simply because he added a few more fancy words afterwards, and he'll no doubt expereince grief from them... but with the words moivating his fellow students... he'll certainly have a different school experience than Soma._

"Best regards to you all for the next three years." Shuzo said as like Soma he offered a respectful bow to his classmates, "With that in mind... I have no intention of losing to people who think having a fancy last name or knife will be enough to make them strong."

 _I take back what I just said... it seems that at least for the start of the school year Shuzo will have half the student-body adoring him, and the other half plotting his tragic downfall from that last word of his alone. In any case one Shuzo walks back to the waiting area backstage he finds that both Erina and Soma are long leaving only him and Inoue._

"Amazing Shuzo-sama... you looked so cool on stage!" Inoue says like a little girl meeting her favorite celebrity once Shuzo walks into the back stage waiting area and sits down in one of the chairs.

"What the... I thought I was.." Shuzo mumbles as he turns his head towards the stage.

 _But Shuzo drops the confident facade he forced himself to give off both walking up to the stage and back... the appearence is more akin to somene who found himself literally transported to another world (though in this case it's only a few dozen feet.)_

"What the... what did I say Inoue?" Shuzo asks with a dazed look on his face much to the target of his question's surprise.

"Don't you remember Shuzo-sama?" Inoue asks in turn.

"No..." Shuzo says a little frantically, "I remember walking up to the podium hoping I don't make a fool of myself, and I guess... I was so nervous that I just blacked out. After that... I have no idea what I said. Did... did I make a fool of myself Inoue?" Shuzo explained as he starts to feel what may be the beginning of an intense migrane.

"Well... not a fool, but don't worry what you said was really cool, but right now we have to make sure you're not late to your first class" Inoue retorts as she happily pushed Shuzo forward from behind.

* * *

 _Just as Soma likely has a wide variety of eyes in a wide variety of emotional states gazing upon him in his class... so does Shuzo. Some were of hatred for what Shuzo said durring the opening ceremonies, and the others... well some admiration and others neutraility again for what he said durring the opening ceremonies._

"It's been a while since I cooked in front of other people my age." Shuzo thought as he examined the ingredients placed on his work station seeing as how had nothing better to do until the teacher shows up.

 _With the exception of Shuzo and one other student, in front of each of the 14 workstations are pair of chefs waiting for instruction. The only reason they're all standing where they are is because when they entered the classroom they found that the teacher of some approved school official wrote on the whiteboard "Go to the station where you see your name written."_

"Hey look, it's the other transfer who was running his mouth off earlier." said one of the students in the class.

"Let it go... at least he wasn't acting anywhere near as arrogant as the other transfer student, and he did say some pretty cool stuff. Besides... I heard that if you make an enemy of him, you make his brother your enemy, and throuh his brother the Elite 10." the parter of that one student whispers back though it was more out of concern for his own well being rather than his partner.

"Ha ha... I don't know what everyone's talking about with the whole 'Unoffical 11th seat of the Elite 10' thing with my brother, but Yuichi would never stick his neck out for me unless he was personally being affected somehow." Shuzo chuckles internally as he catches some of the gossop going on around him.

"Hello young students... today you'll be making a commonly expected dish in Filipino Cuisine. I'll write the recipie on the board since I highly doubt any of you here know it. You'll spend the next two hours with you partner making it and remaking it if nessecary to my satisifcation. Should you actually do so before I call time you and your partner are free to leave early. Any questions?" a female teacher asks as she walks into the classroom.

 _Only two people raise their hands... one being Shuzo and the other being the other student missing his partner._

"Ah yes... Shuzo-san." the teacher says momentarily pausing as he stares at Shuzo's name on a clipboard, "Hmm... I knew your mother when she was a student here, but... what seems to be the problem?"

"My partner seems to be missing. Will I have to make whatever recipie you're about to write on your own?" Shuzo asks.

"This dish is simple enough that every student here should be able to make it on their own, but not in the timeframe for this class... hmm and it seems one other person is missing his parte as well. Just go ahead and work with him... he's the one hunched over two stations behind you." the teacher explains.

"Thank you sensei." Shuzo says as he starts to walk towards the other loner in this class.

 _At said station Shuzo found a young man clearly from Southern Africa hunched over as the teacher described, but not because he was hunched over rather... he was just picking up something he dropped._

"Best regards for our short time together." Shuzo says to his temporary parter as he stand up after picking up whatever he dropped.

"Yeah sure no problem." said the lone student as he turns to face Shuzo.

 _Shuzo's temporary partner as mention was clearly of South African descent, with a shaved head, a long with yellow eyes, as well as being only about 2 inches taller than Shuzo, and was wearing like Shuzo the Tōtsuki uniform with the blazer wrapped around his waist. It seems that the one thing these two have in common if nothing else is that they don't like to wear a traditional chef's outfit for anyhting other than a major formal event._

"You!" both Shuzo and his temporary partner yell having apparenlty both recognized each other.

"Etana Akinyi..." Shuzo says as if he's just dramatically encountered his life-long rival.

"Shuzo Kubo..." Etana says as if he too had dramatically encountered his life-long rival.

 _Quite franky the looked as if they were about to slug it out in front of all these people, but it seems that Shuzo and Etana are able to control themselves if barely._

"You two know each other?" the teacher asks as she like the other students here could easily sense the hostility between Shuzo and Etana.

"Yeah... we know each other. If would never have falled into a giant pot of tomato sauce if it wasn't for Etana!" Shuzo yells.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Inoue: Wait... so you had a tomato buddy Shuzo-sama?

Shuzo: I'd prefer it if you didn't call it that, but yes.

Etana: It's not as though I wanted it to happen.

Shuzo: Next time onShokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués "The Hot Tomato"

Etana: I've had it with you... Shuzo Kubo, I challenge you to a...


	5. The Hot Tomato

**Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués**

 **Chapter 5**

 **The Hot Tomato**

* * *

 _Two years ago on the day of Tōtsuki's transfer exams into its 90th generation of Highschool students... Shuzo was travelling to that very illustrious academy in a town car, but there was one more person asides from Shuzo himself or the driver sitting in this car as well. That person was the man who would eventually gain the nickname "Unofficial 11th seat of the Elite 10", of which the origin of that name shall be explained to Shuzo soon enough... Yuichi Kubo... Shuzo's older brother._

"Argrghh... why do I have to be here?" Shuzo sighs as he's clearly still half asleep.

"It couldn't be helped little brother." Yuichi sighs in turn as his face is covered in shadow due to the direction the sun's light is hitting the town car, "My attendant is still recovering from having her apendix removed, yours is spending quality time with her father, and I guess ours decided it would be a perfect way to bond."

"Still... he could have easily hired a bodyguard or a temp." Shuzo retorts as he attempts to rub the sleepiness from his eyes.

"Hmph.." Yuichi chuckles, "He probably was going to do that, but knowing him he didn't remember until the last minute... and now here you are."

"Yeah that sounds like him, however regardless of why I'm here... I hope you pass your transfer exam big brother." Shuzo smiles if only for showmanship's sake in front of his brother.

"The sentiment is appreciated, but unessecary... the child in me does wish mother and father could at least be in the country to cheer me on." Yuichi retorts in a stoic tone though it's clear he does miss his parents.

"Dad's in... Korea for buisness I think... can't seem to remember if it's the north or south, and mom's visiting one of the links in her restauraunt chain." Shuzo said.

"Young masters, according to the car's GPS we'll be arriving at the academy shortly... though it's hard to tell for certain given all this fog." the driver informs.

 _Within 5 minutes the town car arrives outside of the very same entrance Shuzo will two years from now, but it's visibility has been reduced to the point where Tōtsuki officials have placed emergency lights to guide the way of its hopefull transfer applicants._

"Shuzo.." Yuichi says as he turns to face his little brother after getting out of the car, "I know father's original plan was to have you acompany me, but I'd prefer it if you stay here given the circumstances. With all this fog... it might help the driver to have as second set of eyes in order to avoid an accident once I call for him."

"Yeah sure... I could use the time to catch up on sleep anyway." Shuzo yawns as he's already halfway to laying down on the car seat.

"Since our parents are unable to be here... we'll go to Orlan's place when I'm done celebrate my admittance... ha ha... or console my failure." Yuichi suggests as the thought of failure was a rather amusing joke to him.

"You shouldn't talk like that, but it would be nice to see him again despite his busy schedule... I only wish it could be done without me having to see his sister." Shuzo mumbles as he shivers in fear at the thought of having to see this particular woman.

"You'll have to get used to it once you both turn 18, but if you'll excuse me I really should get going." Yuichi points out as he closes the car door behind him.

 _The town car moves, but Shuzo quickly grows reckless within 20 minutes for a very important bodily reason._

"Arghh... I can't sit here any longer." Shuzo mumbles aloud as his hand is already reaching for the car door.

But young master, Yuichi-sama said to have us wait for his call. Surely you can wait at least two hours?" the driver points out as he attempts to stop Shuzo from leaving the car.

"Oh that's not the problem... I just really need to pee right now. Don't worry I saw the map of the school Yuichi had, so I'm sure I can find the closest bathroom and be back in plenty of time." Shuzo said in the most reassuring tone he was capable of at the time.

"Very well Shuzo-sama, but please don't take too long or Yuichi-sama will be very cross with the both of us." the driver replies as he decides to go against his better judgement and let Shuzo get out of the car.

 _Had the driver chose to listen to that voice in his head a certain "saucy" incident will have never occured, but as that driver was worried about... within minutes Shuzo found himself aimlessley wandering Tōtsuki's seemingly never ending campus._

"At least I was able to find a bathroom... well seeing as the plan is to transfer here in two years... I may as well as learn the layout of the campus now." Shuzo thought as he decides to look at the bright side of things despite how horribly lost he currently is.

 _Much like how he will two years from now, from building to building or anything he belives to be shaped like one given how heavy the fog is._

"What the... why did it get darker all of a sudden?" Shuzo mumbles not realizing he had walked into the interior of a warehouse.

"Excuse me, but is this the World's Biggest Food Records Reasearch Society warehouse? I've thought about joining and wanted to talk the president to get a little more information." another young man asks as somehow he was able to pick out Shuzo's rough shilouette in all this fog.

 _Though initially they couldn't make out each other's facial features due to the current weather, the young man that picked him out was none other than Etana Akinyi._

"Sorry man, but I woudn't be able to tell you. I didn't even know I was standing in a warehouse until you told me." Shuzo explains as he felt a little guilty that he couldn't give Etana the answers he was looking for.

"Ah well thanks anyway. My name is Etana Akinyi, and I'm a scholarship student from South Africa in Tōtsuki's junior high division." Etana says introducing himself as he offers a handshake to Shuzo.

"I'm Shuzo Kubo, and I'm just here to act as a substitute aid for my brother who's taking the transfer exam. It's actualy a tradition for my family to get into Tōtsuki that way." Shuzo replies a greatfully returns this potential gesture of friendship.

"Well it was nice meeting you, but I should really see if I'm in the right building." Etana said.

 _Shuzo could feel Etana loosen his grip and his hand turn as its owner changed directions._

"Oh shit!" Etana suddenly yelled as for him it suddenly feels as though the ground disappeared from under his.

 _But in actuality Etana's feet attempted to come into contact with where there was no ground to begin with, and in an instictive attempt to keep himelf from falling Etana tightens his once loosening grip on Shuzo's hand._

"Ahhhhhhh!" Shuzo screams as unfortunetly for him Etana's instictive reaction only ends up dragging him along for the ride.

 _The two of them fall no more than a dozen feet into what they'd soon enough realize to be a vat of (thankfully lukewarm) tomato sauce._

"What the hell was that for?!" Shuzo yells as he's clearly quite annoyed by this unexpected turn of events.

"Sorry sorry, but as you said... this fog is really thick... I didn't even see that drop." Etana retorts as he willfully admits that their current predicament is his fault.

"Hey somene fell into the vat! Start the pump, get the president, and the rope ladder!" the two tomato buddies hear someone yell within seconds after their fall.

"Oh this is just great... hopefully this doesn't get in the news, but dad and Yuchi will kill me when they find out." Shuzo mumbles aloud as the fear of god was put into himself.

"Hm... this is tomato sauce... oh that's right... I heard their next project was to break the record for world's biggest lasagna." Etana mumbles as he's the first to realize what kind of liquid he and Shuzo are floating around in.

"I have to get out of here." Shuzo thought as he swam towards the edge of this vat of tomato sauce.

* * *

 _But sadly there was no crack, indent, or big enough bolt for Shuzo to use to even attempt to climb out of this thing. Still... it could be considered impressive that he managed to get a fourth of his upper-body above sauce level. In any case the Shuzo and Etana here in the present have a class assignment to complete, so they shouldn't spend all of their two hours reminiscing don't you think?_

"In any case I hope that you two are willing to put your past behind you for the sake of getting an A in my class." the teacher suggests as she was already occupied with writing a recipe on the whiteboard.

"Tch... fine." Etana sighs as he if only temporarily drops his aggressive stance.

"It wouldn't look good to fail on my first day anyway." Shuzo mumbles as he and his temporary partner start washing the ingredients already on their work station.

 _A few other students were already doing the same. They all knew that at a place as strict as Tōtsuki; that like in life, if you want to make something happen you have to make it happen yourself._

"You'll have two hours to make Sinigang... a classical dish in Filipino Cuisine." the teacher said as she finally finishes writing the recipie on the whiteboard.

 _Save for perhaps two or three students Shuzo included, the entire class is quickly confused by the name of the unfamilliar dish. With the exception of those in the class not from Japan, this is surprising especially since they invaded the nation in World War 2._

"Did the teacher just say to sin again?" Etana mumbles as he shows he's clearly not familliar with the Filipino language.

"Not sin again, but sinigang Etana. Anyways... S-" Shuzo starts off as he struggles to not use a stronger tone with his partner.

"Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew dish (depending on how you prepare the base) known for its sour and savoury taste most often associated with tamarind. There are 7 common variations depending on whether or not one uses miso, guava, unripen mango, fish, pork, shrimp, or chicken with tamarind leaves as the focal point in the stock. For this class you'll be making the less common, but still popular Sinigang na Baka." the teacher explained as the class busts out laughing for what they interpret to be the Japanese word for idiot.

"Those bakas... she doesn't mean that kind of baka." Shuzo thought as he burries his face in his hand out of embaressment of his fellow Japanese classmates ability misconstrue a homonym of a foreign language.

"Now settle down!" the teacher orders as she does her best to reign in the unexpected aroma of laughter in the class, "Though I said it this way for a few laughs to ease the tension in the room, baka means beef in Filipino. That's not the most accurate translation of course, but this isn't a language class. With that in mind, your two hours start... now." the teacher anounced as she was tightly focused on the watch wrapped around her wrist.

 _The expression the teacher gives off quickly changes from that of a reasonable authority figure to a strict discipilinarian as all of the students get right to work... or rather all but two students get right to work._

"Excuse me sensei, but regarding the recipie... are we restricted to following it to the letter?" Shuzo asks as he raises his hand.

 _The entire class Etana included stare at Shuzo in shock and awe as if he had just asked the curator of the Louvre for persmission to draw on the Mona Lisa._

"That idiot... the teachers here don't like it when you make changes to the recipie they put on the whiteboard." Etana thought as he wants to slap Shuzo across the face for what he percieves to be his stupidity.

"If you and your partner feel it'll make it taste better, than you're free to do so." the teacher answers as she somehow directs all of the tension in the room on Shuzo and Etana like it was a pair of barbells.

"This isn't good... should I have not said anything?" Shuzo thought as he realizes that the tension was starting to affect him physically as shown by his shaking legs.

"But... if you you have the courage to so casually challenge the recipie the head chef took the time and effort to perfect... they'll be inclined to judge you more harshly." the teacher points out.

 _The tension in the room finally returned to normal levels due to the teacher switching back to focusing on the class as a whole, but the question remains... will Shuzo actually make changes to the recipie?_

"There's no way that transfer student will get a passing grade if he makes changes to the recipie." one student whispers to his partner.

"Yeah no kidding... almost makes me feel sorry for Etana for getting stuck with him." that sudent's partner whispers back.

 _Unlike that one student's partner who only whispered, Etana certainlly had something to say to his partner but in a far louder tone of voice._

"Are you insane?!" Etana yells just loud enough to avoid causing a scene, "I may have no choice when it comes to working with you for this, but we're way bettter off following the recipie."

"You clearly have no experience with Filipino Cuisine do you?" Shuzo asks in a tone that indicates simple curiosity on the issure rather than any dislike he has for Etana.

"Oh, and I suppose you do?" Etana retorts in a slightly condescending tone of voice, of which is understandable given his past with Shuzo.

"My mom specializes in Filipino cuisine, so though not enough to say I specialize in that branch of cooking myself, I know quite a bit from what she's taught me." Shuzo explains as he pulls out a small saucepan.

"I... I see... alright I'll let you lead then." Etana mumbles as he's forced to swallow his initial desire to object to Shuzo's explanation as he could tell that he wasn't lying about this.

 _Etana had for more to say of course, but in the end he decides to deffer to Shuzo's judgement especially since his own knowlege of Filipino Cuisine was tiny if not non-existant._

"But just remember it's only because I don't understand this branch of cuisine very well. There's no way I'd let you boss me around were it any other dish on the board." Etana objects as he shows he's not going to let Shuzo take his entire man card.

"Then can you please prepare the vegetables and meat to how the teacher said to in her recipie while I focus on the stock?" Shuzo asks.

"Yeah..." Etana answers as he grabs one knife amongst the many set up at his work station.

 _Make no mistake Etana and Shuzo would rather use their skils with a knife against each other than for each oter, but regardless the latter of the two is foucesed on mashing tamarind leaves together until their in a pulpy paste like state. The class's teacher quickly realizes what Shuzo's intentions are from that action alone._

"I see... he intends to make the stock from Tamarind sauce instead of simply boiling the leaves. You can delivor a more concise flavor that way, but the tamarind is far more sensitive to seasoning in that pulpy state. It's not something you would normally do in a restuarant unless you understood the characteristics of the leaves to an extreme." the teacher thought.

 _The next step in the Sinigang recipie the teacher wrote was to cut the pieces of beef into 1 inch cubes while the tamarind leaves continue to simmer in water... Shuzo and Etana haven't even done that yet._

"What next?" Etana asks as he finishes up dicing a few cloves of garlic.

"Now we can finally start cooking the meat before adding it to the pot." Shuzo answers.

"Actually about that... given what you put in the sauce I think we should season the meat with..." Etana starts whispering into Shuzo's ears so their classmates can't hear what he's about to suggest.

 _Once Shuzo actually hears what Etana had to say, his eyes go wide and a big grin grows on his face signaling that he approves of what his partner had said._

"I like it, but is there any in the class?" Shuzo asks as he wants make sure that adding Etana's mystery ingredient was actually viable.

"All the classroom kitchens are identically stocked, and it is the first day of class so I highly doubt that someone could have beaten us to it." Etana answers.

 _As even more time passes and students are busy with putting on the finishing touches, it might seem like that Etana and Shuzo are working unusually well together despite the clear dislike of one another. Make no mistake their working relationship is still far from passable. On occasion throughout the class they still ended up yelling at each other._

"Hmm... this one gets a B." the teacher says to the first pair of students to present a completed Sinigang na Baka to her.

 _One student breathed a sigh of relief as they were perfectly content with that grade, but his partner clicked his tounge as he as hoping to get an A. Most of the students that followed this pair got Cs, a few more got Bs, but so far no student team have manged to get into the uncharted teritory required for an A or poorly enough for an E. Could she be that nice of a teacher or could there be a talented crop of young chefs in her class I wonder?_

"Excuse me sensei, but can we get our dish evaluated next?" Etana asks the moment the pair of students that went before him and Shuzo clear out from the teacher's table.

"Hey you saw what that transfer student and Etana added to their pot right?" yet another student asks her partner.

"Yeah... no way they'll get anything higher than an E." the partner of that female student answers.

 _As soon as Etana and Shuzo place their own Sinigang na Baka on the teacher's desk... it's plain to see that the soup itself is of a more brighter and clearer color compared to the other students that went before them._

"Hmm..." the teacher mumbles as she takes in the fragrance of Shuzo and Etana's dish, "If nothing else... yours is the most pleaseantly fragrant compared to the other students."

"Impossible... there's no way they could have gotten rid of the savoury smell without changing a lot of the spices around!" another student in this class thought.

"Well... bottoms up." the teacher thought as she takes a little of the soup, meat, and a little of each vegetable all in one go.

 _Upon coming into contact with her tounge, the teacher becomes lost in a scene burried deep within her own mind. That scene is of a raging sea of tamarind soup in a storm, a small boat made of the sinigang's various garnishes, and the teacher herself is siting in that boat desperatley trying to row to safety._

"I have to get to land before a tidal wave hits." the teacher thought as she used a piece of bok choy as an oar to guide her garnish boat forward.

 _Sensei was looking ahead at a food island topped with the very things her improvised boat was made out of. There was cuts of beef, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and a few other kinds of vegetables all littering the tiny landmass to form its own unique eco system._

"Wha... ahhhhhh!" the teacher screams.

 _She screamed because she saw a tidal wave racing towards her as she feared knowing she'd be unable to outrun it, and then she was brought back to the reality of students waiting for her criqiuqe as the tidal wave consumed her._

"Masarap!" the teacher says aloud as she was quite clearly riding on cloud 9.

"Master wrap?" Etana mumbles in confusion.

"Masarap means delicous in Filipino." Shuzo quickly explains.

 _A lot of the students couldn't believe what they're seeing... a teacher essentially having a food orgasm off of what they percieved to be an inferior dish when their own never came close to producing such a reaction._

"One of the weaknesses of sour flavored soups... sinigang especially is that it's difficult to make the garnish stand out as more than mere diffrences in texture as you bite into it, but this... I can clearly taste the onions, tomatoes, potatoes, bak choy, and everyhing else I wrote on the whiteboard. I was savoring the taste of this dish like... a captain trying to keep their sinking boat afloat in a storm." the teacher said as she describes her enjoyment of the dish with exquisite detail.

"When I was making the tamarind sauce to in turn make it into the stock I added a little bit of coconut milk. Its natural bitterness pairs well with the sour flavor of the tamarind." Shuzo explains as holds out a small carton of coconut milk.

"That would make the flavor of the soup itself stronger, but that doesn't explain how you were able to preserve the distinct taste of the garnishes without taking away from the flavor of the dish as a whole." the teacher retorts.

"Much as I'd like to say otherwise, Etana deserves credit for this one."Shuzo explains as he nods his head towards his temporary partner in time.

"Since my partner was so intent on messing with your recipie sensei, I figured I should do my part to make sure it wasn't a total loss. Before we cooked the meat I kneaded a tiny mixture of lemon grass and bay leaves into them. The sharpness of both act as a buffer to make the garnish more noticable, and since I used a miniscule amount... it was able to do just that without negativley impacting the dish as a whole." Etana explained.

"Your lack of familliarity with Filipino Cuisine is quite clear, but I'm impressed that you were able to come up with something that complimnted your partner's alterations on the fly like that." the teacher said clearly praising both Etana and his partner.

"I'm not familliar with Filipino Cuisine as you said, but I have used tamarind leaves in my other classes so I know what pairs with them." Etana points out.

"Honestly... how you two reacted when you first saw each other and the occasional bit of noise you made throughout the class, I was expecting very little from you. Your seperate moments of inspiration has come to gether quite well." the teacher said with a smile on her face.

"Well actually sensei, to be fair adding coconut milk to sinigang was something she came up with not me." Shuzo interjects.

"Well regardess it came together rather well... so well in fact that I think I'll give you two the first A of the day." the teacher said.

 _The sensei actually wanted to eat more of Shuzo and Etana's creation, but she has to hold her fork an her tounge since there are still a few more students to grade. As for Etana and Shuzo themselves... they couldn't help but both do a little fist pump in the air to celebrate._

"We did it!" Shuzo says as he holds out his hand for a highfive.

"Yeah!" Etana says as he returns his partner's gesture.

 _But then a second later these two remember that they don't like each other, and it's back to buisness as usual._

"I guess you didn't screw up as bad as I thought you would." Etana points out as he and Shuzo turn their backs on one another.

"Ditto." Shuzo replies.

 _After cleaning up their work stations, the teacher allowed Shuzo and Etana to leave her class early as promised but they both end up going in opposite directions in the hall. Whether or not that's because of their dislike of one another or if simply their next classes are in opposite directions remains unknown._

"I see everything went well for you Shuzo-sama." said a certain familliar and very peppy teenaged girl as she tapped Shuzo on he shoulder.

"Why are you here Inoue? More importantly, why aren't you in class? Shuzo asks as he turns around and finds the woman that calls herself his aid.

"My first class is a study hall, and it's managed by an old man who sleeps alot so it's easy for me to sneak out. Besides... I do hope you don't think I don't care about my education Shuzo-sama. I actually had an important reason to come and find you." Inoue says in a sarcastic tone whilst wagging her fingers as if lecturing Shuzo.

"Well what is it? I don't have much time before the first bell rings, and I really need to use the bathroom." Shuzo curiously asks.

"Now now... I'll just have you reach down my shirt and pull it out." Inoue said as she unbuttons the top of her uniform in an attempt to show off her womanly assests or lack there of to the person across from her.

 _She didn't unbutton it all the way of course, but when Inoue saw Shuzo moving his hand towards her she couldn't help but get a little excited. She'd soon realize of course that he'd have something else in mind entirely._

"Be serious for once!" Shuzo says aloud with an annoyed expression on his face as he starts giving Inoue a noogie.

"Ouch... that was a little mean Shuzo-sama... I was only joking." Inoue said after breaking away from Shuzo's grip, "Anyways I came because I just recieved word that your personal belongings have been moved and unpacked at a company owned apartment building near campus. I just came here to give you directions and a key."

 _For this, Inoue was true to her word as she held out a key and a folded up piece of paper to her beloved Shuzo-sama._

"Thank you." Shuzo says as he takes the afformentioned items from Inoue's hand.

"Oh look at the time... I had better hurry up back to my class to get my things." Inoue said right after the bell rings only to be lost from Shuzo's view amongst the crowd of hurrying students.

* * *

 _Save for the occasional "Hello" from a few of the food buisness scions that his family deals with, Shuzo's first day of school was actually very normal one. There might have been one or two people who heckled him for what he said durring the opening ceremonies, but it wasn't anything he could'nt handle. What made Shuzo's day the most normal of all was that he hadn't seen Inoue since she gave her the key to his apartment, but that exact fact was what was worrying him the most._

"Let's see... assuming this isn't one of her elaborate ruses... it should be arround the corner." Shuzo thought as he constantly glanced back and forth betwen the street signs and the map in his hand.

 _Shuzo's home for the next three years or however long he's able to stay enrolled at is surprisingly a far more plain apartment building nestled in the street corner than he expected. He certainly didn't expect something along the lines of a 5 star hotel for an apartment building meant for employee housing, but I suppose due to the fact that Shuzo was from a wealthy family he still couldn't help but expect the random 10'000 dollar piece of art hanging on the outer walls._

"Ahh... what is that smell?" Shuzo thought as he instictivley squeezes his nose shut in response to a foul oder that permeated his nose as he walked into the building's small parking lot.

 _The fact that there was a parking lot was irrelevant to Shuzo since he could walk to school in 20 minutes (though getting to his actuall classes beyond the school's front entrance can take a while), but the source of the odor was from a large dumpster filled with who knows how many kinds of rotting food. Ironic since Shuzo's family built their wealth on the packaged food buisness._

"Let's see... it was supposed to be appartment 2B." Shuzo mumbles as he walks up the stairs to the complex's second floor.

 _After a few seconds of shimmying around his pocket for the right key, Shuzo was about to unlock the door to his new home when suddenly he pulls back his key to due his gut instict chosing this moment to kick in._

"No... this is too easy." Shuzo thought as he started to walk away from the apartment door and back down the stairs.

 _Once he actually gets back to ground floor, Shuzo walks to up to the dumpster and starts pushing it towards the area just beyond the safety railing outside of his apartment; however, it is by no means a simple increased weight resulting from the dumpster being close to if not already full takes what should have been a 5 minute task and turns it into a 20 minute one._

"Oh... it's going to suck... putting that back... if I'm wrong." Shuzo thought as he gasps for air whilst climbing back up the stairs.

 _The moment Shuzo places his key in the lock, he first looks right and then left in order to make sure he didn't somehow miss some previously unforseen danger that will affect whatever he has planned by moving the dumpster._

"Here we go." Shuzo sighs as he slowly turns the key to his left.

 _Shuzo relaxes a little when he hears the distict clicking of retracting tumblers and nothing happens, but he's far from dropping his guard. No... when he pushes the front door, he does so with just enough force to open it all the way and instantly dives to the side before the door knob can come into contact with the inner apartment walls._

"Shuzo-sama!" Inoue sceams.

 _The little cannonball on fire that could comes flying out of Shuzo's apartment as if she was actually shot out of one._

"Shuzo-sama, you meanie!" Inoue yells once she realizes the person she desired saw this display off affection coming.

 _First she comes flying out of Shuzo's apartment, then she goes over the safety railings, and lands in the dumpster Shuzo placed earlier somehow avoding injury._

"How come you didn't move Shuzo-sama?" Inoue pleas as if she had expected Shuzo to willingly and gladly take this little display of hers head on.

"Not after the last time when you bruised cracked two of my ribs! Consider landing in the dumpster an excuse to think about how your actions affect others!" Shuzo yells like a parent lecturing his child.

"I didn't crack them... the doctors said they were bruised! Besides... you can't seriously expect me to go back home smelling like this?" Inoue pleas as she both oozes the smell of old bananas and has the actual rotten fruit hanging off her sides.

"I'm assuming you've already planted your clothes in here already for when you plan to spend the night without telling me again!" Shuzo yells as he pulls out a towel that was conviniently placed just inside his apartment's doorway, "Just get in here and use my bathroom!"

"Yay... I get to take a bath with Shuzo-sama." Inoue said as she excitedly climbs out of the dumpster.

"The hell you get to!" Shuzo yells as walks inside his apartment.

 _After making sure Inoue closes the bathroom door behind her in Shuzo's apartment, that finally leaves the man himself free to examine it in detail. I suppose the father wasn't going to leave the son out to dry completely as it has the fully stocked/equipped kitchen expe... no required of a Tōtsuki academy student, furnishings expected of the average high-income family, and finally Shuzo's favorite part... a large flat screen hdtv with consoles galore wired to it._

"Shuzo-sama... Shuzo-sama... Shuzo-sama." Inoue starts humming over the sound of running water over and over again as if Shuzo's name was a part of some simple song that she's just made up.

"All of my favorite games... they're all here! Thank you dad!" Shuzo says aloud as he greatly appreciates the bone regarding where his true interests lay that his father threw him.

* * *

 _He immediatley pulled out one of his favorite games (and a rare one at that), and started playing from long before Inoue finishes cleaning herself up to long after she actually leaves. While it's true that all any serious gamer needs to pull an all nighter is a steady stream of snacks and the occasional bathroom break, it's far from the healthiest thing one should do on a school night._

"Hey Kubo-san, you look like hell," one of Shuzo's classmates points out.

 _Shuzo's eyes are red as if someone drew on them in crayon, there are bags under his eyes the size of quarters, and the head of the man himself is rocking back and forth as if trying to decide whether or not to sleep or stay awake. In a nutshell... this "28 Days Later" like appearence on his face is the result of someone who just pulled a stressfull all-nighter playing games or no._

"Yeah... you wouldn't think it was so hard to fire pair of proton torpedoes down a 2 meter wide whole. Damn that lord's rediculous aim." Shuzo mumbles.

"Ha... okay." that one classmate mumbles clearly weired out fails to realize that Shuzo is reffering to the events of a game.

 _This time instead of waiting for a teacher in a practical workshop classroom, Shuzo's waiting for him or her in a surprisngly ordinarily deigned lecture hall given Tōtsuki's food focused nature._

"Oh great... I'm stuck with you again." a famillair voice said.

 _Shuzo turns his head to his left where he finds Etana wearing a disheveled school uniform as he too for whatever reason looks like that he's been up all night._

"Yawwwn... blame the teacher... for arranging the seating chart. Still... what the hell happened to you?" Shuzo curiously asks.

"My fellow dormates were throwing a welcome party for their new neighboor." Etana answers as he takes the seat to the left of Shuzo.

"Tōtsuki has a dorm?" Shuzo retorts.

"Yeah, but if you want to know more ask me again when I'm wide awake. Anyways my room was right next to the room... where they were hosting the party... and because all of the yelling and the smell of fish... I didn't sleep until... actually I didn't sleep at all last night." Etana somehow explained despite switching back and forth between state of conciousness and unconciousness.

"Good moring Kubo-san." a certain female said, but this time it wasn't actually Inoue.

"Goo..." Shuzo was saying as he was suddenly shocked silent midsentence one he realized just who had greeted him.

 _The person who had greeted him was none other than Nakiri Erina the 10th seat of the Elite 10, and the one responsible for allowing Shuzo entry into Tōtsuki. Shuzo may have only recently gained the intention of one day taking her seat as payback for those comments about his family, but he was hardly ungratful to her. For that reason alone Shuzo and Etana, for the latter simply being in Erina's line of sight hurridly make the attempt to pick themselves up and straighten out their uniforms._

"Good morning to you as well Erina-sama. Hmm... I see your aid isn't with you today." Shuzo points out as he decides to make some idle conversation before the morning bell whilst still combing his hair.

"Yeah... regretably she was assigned to a different class, but I'm more than capable of managing an hour or two without her." Erina retorts.

 _Once again Shuzo has the eyes of another classroom upon him, but this time its for entirely different reasons. The very idea that the great Nakiri Erina was holding a conversation with a mere transfer student was shocking especially since it would take either the grace of god or the curse of the devil for anyone else to be in the same situation._

"Hey... are you seeing what I'm seeing? Erina-sama is seriously talking to that other transfer student. Could it be that she..." one student female whispers to her friend.

"You're reading too much into it baka. She was the one that allowed Kubo-san to transfer into Tōtsuki in the first place, so she's probably just wants to make sure he won't make her look bad... and probably recruit him into her faction in the process. If I was a member of the Elite 10, I'd be doing the same." the friend of that one female student whispers back.

"Hey... good morning Tomato-san." a certain cocky red-headed teen said to Shuzo in teasing tone.

 _Upon even the slightest reminder of that incident, whatever ounce of sleepiness that Erina was unable to erase from Shuzo with her greeting is destroyed due to a combination of anger and reminders of a personal humiliation._

"Tch... Yukihira Soma... it seems like fate has every intention of providing this man more oppurtunities to make my blood boil." Erina thought as she was both annoyed by Soma's presence and even more so by the fact that he was assigned to the empty seat next to her.

"Don't call me that!" Shuzo yells.

"How the hell do you know about that?!" Etana yells as well, but only because he thought that Soma was reffering to him.

"Hmm... oh so you're the other tomato that Isshiki-senpai talked about... I guess that makes you two tomato bros." Soma points out still in a teasing tone.

"The hell we're brothers!" Etana and Shuzo yell as they both turn as red as the tomato sauce they fell in two years ago.

"This wouldn't be as big a problem if you didn't fall on me!" Etana yelled as he turned to direct his fury towards Shuzo.

"It wasn't on purpose I slipped off the ladder, and this wouln't have ever been a problem anyway if you didn't drag me in like an anchor!" Shuzo yells as he does the same.

"As you said yourself... it was foggy and impossible to see that far ahead!" Etana screams back.

"Quite down." an older gentleman barked as he happened to have chosen the perfect moment to walk into the classroom.

 _The teacher this time was an older gentleman in his mid to late 50s wearing a dark brown suit and tie, but still... it was a good thing that he chose to walk into the classroom at that moment. If he didn't... fists would likely be flying throughout the class._

"Your normal teacher was unexpectedly called away on buisness, so I'll just be subbing for him today. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Pavel Baranovsky and I'm Tōtsuki Academy's foremost expert on Russian cuisine." Prof. Baranovsky announced as his accent quite clearly matched his cuisine preference.

"I'm glad this isn't cooking class... he's the only guy in the school more strict than Chapelle-sensei." Etana said not realizing that he was mumbling his thoughts aloud.

"I've been asked to give a refresher lecture on Tōtsuki's policies, but you all should have learned that in the junior high division. If you haven't... then look it up on your own time, but to make it look like that I've even remotley doing my job I'll give a quick lecture on the only thing any of you here probably care about." Prof. Baranovsky announced as the only thing that stopped him from continuing was a sudden coughing fit.

"Are you alright sensei?" one of the other students in this class asks.

"Don't worry... it's just these old lungs of mine having a fit. Ahem... what I speak of are Tōtsuki's infamous cooking duels... Shokugeki. They are a means of settling issues between students and even staff. In a Shokugeki both sides offer up 'compensation' or something they offer up to the winner should they lose. They can be things as menial as the last recipie book in the student store or as valuable as million yen wagers. There does not have to be an even number of competitors on both sides... as long as it's been approved... it can be 1 chef versus a thousand." Prof. Baranovsky explained.

"A Shokugeki huh? That would be a perfect chance for me to settle the score with him." Etana thought as he turns to face Shuzo of whoms attention is focused on the lecturing instructor.

"Despite all this... there are three conditions that must be met before a Shokugeki can be made official. First, the members of both sides must be willing pariciapnts. Second, there must be an odd number of judges to avoid ties... though on occasion it still happens. Finally... let's see.. Nakiria Erina, if you would do the honors." Prof. Baranovsky announced just before directing his gaze at the 10th seat of the Elite 10.

"Yes sensei." Erina said as she gracefully rose from her seat, "The last condition is approval from an authorized individual like an Elite 10 member such as myself, any member of Tōtsuki's teaching staff, and even my grandfather the director himself." Erina explained before sitting back down in her seat.

"Very good.. one side can state the theme for the Shokugeki or if the conflicting parties are unable to decide on a theme... they can leave it to the Shokugeki Board or even the individual approving of the duel in the first place. Now I'd say the most memorable Shokugeki in recent years was between the current 1st seat and the 8th sea-" Prof. Baranovky announced as he was about to use actual historical examples of a Shokugeki.

"Ha ha ha... it looks like it'll be a perfect chance afterall." Etana says aloud as he suddenly busts out into a battle-crazed laughter.

 _Once again all the eyes in the classroom were drawn to a single point, but at least this time it was all on Etana rather than Shuzo._

"You have a lot of guts to interupt me while I'm speaking kid, but since I both have a hunch where your going with this and prefer my students to learn by example than a whiteboard... I'll let you finish." Prof. Baranovsky said with a smug smile on his face though he was clearly quite annoyed with Etana's actions.

"Thank you sense." Etana said to the teacher before getting up from his seat and turning to face Shuzo, "Shuzo Kubo, in order to settle our differences brought about by that incident two years ago; I Etana Akinyi formally challenge you to a Shokugeki. The 'compensation' will be that the loser publically apologizes to the winner saying it was their fault for making that situation worse and one favor to be called upon at any time." Etana declares in the most bold tone he's capable of.

"Interesting... I was thinking of doing the same thing anyway Etana Akinyi, so I'll accept your terms." Shuzo said as he got up from his seat as well with the look of a man craving battle carved into his face.

"Nakiri Erina, if you could once again do the honors. I'd do it myself, but I've only recently been hired as Tōtsuki's expert on Russian Cuisine and haven't been granted the authority to authorize a Shokugeki yet." Prof. Baranovsky suggests as he once again turns his gaze towards Erina.

 _Amused by the unexpected entertainment going on in her class, Erina lets a weaker version of her usual smile appear on her face as she once again gracefully gets up from her seat._

"Very well... I Nakiri Erina 10th seat of the Elite 10 do hearby recognize this challenge as an official Shokugeki." Erina announced before the entire class after only taking a few seconds to mentaly switch between a student and a school official.

 _Since normal school rules for this particular class were effectivley tossed out of the window, all of the other students with cell phones in the class start whipping them out for the sake of spreading the news of the pending duel between the transfer student Shuzo and the scholarship student Etana amongst the school's large student body... even if the actual theme or date had yet to be decided._

"I trust there will be no objection if I decide the theme?" Erina said as she quickly glances between Shuzo and Etana.

"No." Shuzo and Etana simeltaniously answer.

"Then let's see." Erina mumbles as she pauses for a moment in order to actually think about what the theme should be, "The theme will be 'Simple Deserts', the main ingredients will be up to your discression, and the cook-off will be in four days. As students who able to get into Tōtsuki through the more difficult means of enrolling... I hope you don't disappoint."

"You heard her Shuzo Kubo... the dice have been cast." Etana declred as he got up from his seat and started to walk towards the classroom door.

"Where are you going?" Shuzo asks.

"To begin working on my dish." Etana answers as he turns to face Shuzo with one-hand still on the

door knob, "You have four days to polish your skills, but even so... I'll still win."

 _Though some could make the argument that the expression on Etana's face in this moment was one of clear arrogence, however they would be wrong. Etana wears the expression of a man who has complete confidence in his abilities, but whether or not he reaches the realm of overconfidence is something we'll have to wait and see._

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Shuzo: What are you doing here?

?: Orlan wants to see you.

Inoue: Four days from now... I see that's why she match to that date. Be careful Shuzo-sama... that person is manipulating you.

Shuzo: Next time on Shokugeki no Soma: Produits Préfabriqués, "The Impossible Milkshake!"

Erina: Now that I've tailored this Shokugeki to your weakness... let's see how you do.


End file.
